The Musée des Arts Décoratifs is home to one of the world’s astounding collections of drawings. To celebrate its archive of 200,000 works, the museum has selected 500 to present as a symbolic alphabet—A is for architecture, and so forth. It’s a clever way to organize drawings by ornamentalists and decorators such as Chareau and Royère, studies by the masters Degas, Rodin, and Le Brun. And then there’s the dreamy jewelry and haute couture designs. —E.C.