Telecom since 1671
Beginning of a Story


1671 january 21 Two young entrepreneurs
Leon Pajot and Louis Rouillé
acquire a fascinating mansion in Paris,
the Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon (VB).
They have the project to invent
somethin,g in Telecommunications.

They call it "La Poste"
The Royal French Postal Services
under the reign of King Louis XIV.
The company is an ancestor of the PTT
(Postes Telegraphes et Telecom)
later controled by the State.


Louis XIV already knew VB
when he was a child
as the VB mansion was the home of his teacher
Nicolas V de Villeroy.


For 5 generations the Villeroys
were already connected to the Bourbon,
the Kings of France.

La Poste VB
Beginning of a Story

The VB Whitepages have their roots
in the walls of VB, an old Paris mansion
and the story of two telecom families
Pajot & Rouillé / La Poste VB (since 1671) based in Paris
Thurn & Taxis (since 1290) based in Brussels and Frankfurt.

Pajot & Rouillé operated Postal Services
in the territories of the Bourbons, Kings of France
Thurn & Taxis in the territoires
of the Habsburgs, Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.

The two families operated multiple Post Relais
located at a distance of 30km.
When a horse was tired from a trip
mail passed on to a fresh horse
continuing the journe without interruption.

For International Mail
each Postal family needed the other one
as their networks were not the same.


Louis Leon Pajot
was the common grandson
of company founders Leon Pajot and Louis Rouillé

Anselm Franz, 2nd Prince of Thurn und Taxis
3 x grand nephew of company founder
Francesco Tasso / Franz Taxis

Francesco Tasso was a descendant of Omodeo Tasso
who had started Postal Services
in 1290 in Cornello in the Italian Alps.

The two Postmasters
met frequently.
They were fascinated by each others
know-how.

A letter between Paris and Brussels
took 40h in the summer and 48h in the winter.



In the late 1730s
La Poste VB operated 900 Post Relais

3000 Post Relais were partr of the
Thurn & Taxis network
A Posthorn was used to announce
the arrival of the Post Horses.


Cremerie de Paris / VB
and the two Thurn & Taxis Postal Palaces
in (Brussels and Frankfurt)
were the heart of an amazing network.
Uncountable historic documents
passed their gates.


When Louis XIV had a letter that was really important
he did not trust his entourage
and insisted to give it to Louis Leon Pajot in person.

Usually Pajot went to the Château de Versailles,
but weather was good Louis XIV
liked to go to Cremerie de Paris / VB.
He liked to watch horses leaving the VB mansion
and the place reminded him of his childhood.

End of a Story
Un voyage à travers l'histoire des Telecom

1738 / 1869 the two Postal families
lost their companies
but "Sprit of Telecommunications"
remained in the walls of VB.

Anselm Franz is part of the Whitepages Logo
beyond the VB mansion
there is another direct link
between the VB Whitepages
and the old Postmasters.



King Louis XV and
Chancellor von Bismarck
take the Postal companys away
Louis XV, suffered from jealousy.
The great grandson of Louis XIV
wanted the revenues of the Postal Service for himself
1738, Mai 21 he withdrew the VB post liciense.

but he did not have the power to take it
from the Thurn & Taxis
based outside France in Brussels and Francfort.


Maximilian Karl von Thurn & Taxis (1802 - 1871),
last postmaster.
1867, july 1 the sate of Prussia nationalised
the Thurn & Taxis Post, ancestor of the German PTT
but Bismark had to make a 3 million German thalers
compensation payment.
Two, three of these thalers would 119 years later
come to Paris, rue des Halles ...

Transmission of a Story
Un voyage à travers l'histoire des Telecom


Helene Thurn & Taxis,
sister of Sissi of Austria (1837 - 1898)
was the daughter in law of the last Postmaster.
She reinvested the money left by Maeximilian Karl


Ludwig of Bavaria
and Paul Thurn & Taxis
were more fascinated by the legends around Louis XIV
than by the ones around the postal service.


King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845 - 1886)
knew about VB from his friend
Paul of Thurn & Taxis (1843 - 1879)
He came to visit the VB mansion back 1867.
At that time the construction
of our rue des Halles wasn't finished.
He returned in 1874
(a month after the invention of the phone
by Alexander Graham Bell)



Albert von Thurn & Taxis (1860 - 1952)
inherited the fortune.
He transmits the postal stories
to his grandsons Johannes et Anselm.
The VB mansion was part of them.


1952 Johannes Thurn & Taxis
inherited the Telecom fortune from his grandfather Albert.
He was very cultivated and knew
his family's history like an encyclopedia.
His stories would later create a link between the Telecom activities
of the old Thurn & Taxis Postmasters
and the future VB Whitepages.

Return of a story
Un voyage à travers l'histoire des Telecom

1986 when travelling to Paris
Johannes Thurn & Taxis (1926 - 1990)
loved to come
to the area of Châtelet les Halles.
He enjoyed talking to young people in cafes,

One of them (now editor of this website)
was captivated by his unbeleivable stories
of the old Thurn & Taxis Postmaster
carrying letters with horses.


Thurn & Taxis decided to show him VB,
a magical place his 6 x great-grandfather
Anselm Franz von Thurn & Taxis (1681 - 1739)
used to go to.

While the Thurn & Taxis Postmansion
in Brussels of Francefurt had been destroyed
VB was still around.

Walking aroundf the mansion
Thurn & Taxis had the energy
and the
"Sprit of Telecommunications"
of his ancestors
was still around
sleeping in the old walls .

So he asked the student for an idea
how to wake it up.
"You will a lot will happen
in the field of Telecommunications .."

Waking up somthing
that had fallen asleep back in 1738
248 years before
What a crazy idea ...



Walking out the the VB mansion
right next door
11 rue des Halles 75001 Paris
was a little shop
with a sign
"for Sale"

A few days later,
without having the time to think
the student received
the key of the shop
and the mission
to find a new Telecom idéa.


When you just turned 20
and you have the chance
that someone gives you the keys
of a little Boutique in Paris

a lot of adventures
are waiting for you ...



The idea was to open a shop for
avant-garde japaneese Sony phones.
Not really a shop,
more a service center
as the French PTT
had a Monopoly at the time
making it impossible to sell phones
that were "made in Japan"



The Sony phones
were so beautiful
people were bringing them
back to France
after a trip to the US

More and more
Audiovisual people came
to the little shop