Hotel de la Brinvilliers, l'empoisonneuse, Rue Charles V 12

This graceful staircase in the Hôtel de Brinvilliers sweeps down into the entrance hall of a house built in 1630. The neglected building was visibly run down by the time Eugène Atget took this photograph. The plaster and stonework are badly stained, and the tiles are scuffed and dirty. The ornate wrought iron railing is all that remains lovely in this once-elegant home.