Cabinetmakers under Napoleon III

A guide offering some background on the greatest names of the nineteenth century in the field of liqueur cellarettes, boxes, caskets and other display pieces.
It is not exhaustive and will be expanded over time; we intend to publish references for some fifty cabinetmakers within the next three months. We can also provide information on makers who do not yet appear in this list, as we hold extensive documentation on the subject — simply send us an email.

Claudious Abry (1885 – 1972), joiner, carpenter and cabinetmaker. Amuseum is devoted to his work.

Rose Adler (1892-1969), bookbinder and cabinetmaker.

Jacques Adnet (1900-1984), decorator and architect.

ANNEE, Théodore.

This fine cabinetmaker of the second half of the nineteenth century specialized in dressing cases, small boxes, caskets, liqueur cellarettes, marriage coffers and small fancy furniture. He showed numerous creations at the 1844 French industry exhibition, for which he was awarded a bronze medal. His house enjoyed an excellent reputation. He excelled in inlays of brass, copper and tortoiseshell. In 1856 he took over the CHABERT firm, at 22 rue Chapon, and remained active until 1863. Among his specialities were highly complex and demanding marquetry panels, with finely engraved cross-hatched grounds.

André Arbus (1903-1969), architect and decorator.

Jean Avisse (1723-1796), chair-maker.

Étienne Avril (1748?-1796), cabinetmaker.

Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892), bronzier and cabinetmaker

Charles Baudry (1791-1859), cabinetmaker

Joseph Baumhauer ( -1772), privileged marchand-ébéniste to the King

The Befort family (or Béfort), including:

Jean-Baptiste Befort (died 1840), French cabinetmaker of Belgian origin

Jean-Baptiste Befort fils, eldest son of the above, cabinetmaker and antique dealer (successor: Heubès)

Mathieu Befort, known as Befort le jeune (1813-1880), brother of the above, cabinetmaker

TheBellangé family, including:

Pierre-Antoine Bellangé (1757-1827), cabinetmaker, appointed supplier to Napoleon I and later to Charles X

Louis-François Bellangé (1759-1827), French cabinetmaker, brother of the above

Louis-Alexandre Bellangé (1796-1861), French cabinetmaker, son of Pierre-Antoine

Alexandre Bellangé (1799-1863), French cabinetmaker, son of Louis-François

Guillaume Beneman (?-1803), cabinetmaker (master 1785)

Quentin Bergot (since 1968), cabinetmaker emeritus and woodcarver

Isidore Bernhart (1898-1976), cabinetmaker and pataphysician. (SeeAndré Mailfert)

Georges Berthelot (1922) – Woodcarver

TheBeurdeley family, including:

Louis-Auguste-Alfred Beurdeley (1802-1882), cabinetmaker and marqueteur

Alfred Emmanuel Louis Beurdeley (1847-1919), cabinetmaker and marqueteur

Léonard Boudin (1735-1807), cabinetmaker, marqueteur and dealer

André-Charles Boulle (1642–1732), cabinetmaker and marqueteur; four of his sons carried on his work:

Jean-Philippe Boulle (~1680–1744)

Pierre-Benoît Boulle (~1683–1741)

André-Charles Boulle II known as “Boulle de Sève” (1685–1745)

Charles-Joseph Boulle (1688–1745)

Denis Bruyère (1957), Belgian cabinetmaker and ornamental sculptor, conservator-restorer of major heritage furniture

Carlo Bugatti (1856-1940), Italian cabinetmaker and decorator

Canabas (real nameJoseph Gengenbach) (1712-1797), master 1766 (18th century), cabinetmaker and marqueteur

François-Rupert Carabin (1862-1932), sculptor and ornamentalist

Martin Carlin (c. 1730-1785), cabinetmaker and marqueteur

Alfred Chanaux (1887-1965), designer

Pierre Chareau (1883-1950), architect and decorator

Marcel Coard (1889-1975), cabinetmaker

Jean-Joseph Chapuis (1765-1864), cabinetmaker, pupil of Jacob

Henri Cler (1862–1910), cabinetmaker andanarchist of theFaubourg Saint-Antoine

Michel Colomban (born 1932)

The “Couleru” ofMontbéliard, joiners and cabinetmakers

Abraham-Nicolas Couleru (1717-1812)

Pierre-Nicolas Couleru (1735-1824)

Marc-David Couleru (1732-1804)

Georges-David Couleru (1761-1845)

Charles Cressent (1685-1768), cabinetmaker

Louis Cresson II

TheCriaerd family, joiners and cabinetmakers

André Criaerd

Mathieu Criaerd (1689-1776), brother of the above

Antoine-Mathieu Criaerd, son of the above

TheCruchet family (c. 1724-1787)

Michel-Victor Cruchet (1815-1899)

Claude-Philippe Cruchet (1841-after 1900)

Henry Dasson (1825-1896), cabinetmaker and bronzier

Louis Delanois (1731-1792), chair-maker

Jean-Baptiste Demay (1759-1848), chair-maker

Jacob Desmalter seeFrançois-Honoré Jacob (1770-1841), cabinetmaker

Charles-Guillaume Diehl (1855-1885), cabinetmaker

DIEHL, Charles guillaume.

First a joiner at Steinbach, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, born on 20 July 1811. He settled in Paris in 1840. His workshops were at 3 rue de Thorigny, then 170 rue St Martin, and finally rue Michel le Compte, successively at nos. 16, 21 and 19 between 1853 and 1885. He employed 600 workers in 1870. The address at no. 19 was the finest, the one where he achieved the international success he deserved. Bronze medal in 1855, medal of honour in 1869, ranked hors concours in 1878! His chief cabinetmaker, Kowallewski, was the finest cabinetmaker of the day. Specializing in luxury furniture for the wealthiest clients, he had a particular talent for marquetry design, creating a style imitated by many, though with less finesse. Naturalized French in 1872, he died in 1885. The most astonishing of them all, with marquetry of staggering complexity.

Jacques Androuet du Cerceau (1510-1588), architect

The Dubois family, cabinetmakers, including:

Jacques Dubois (1693-1763), cabinetmaker

René Dubois (1737-1799), cabinetmaker

Jean Dunand (1877-1942), coppersmith and lacquerer

The Durand family, suppliers to the Mobilier de la Couronne under the July Monarchy, including:

Prosper-Guillaume-Jean Durand (1784-1859), cabinetmaker and joiner, active from c. 1810 to 1838

Etienne-Philippe Durand (1813-1894), son of the above, cabinetmaker, joiner and upholsterer, active from 1838 to 1860

Jean Pierre Dusautoy (1719-1800), cabinetmaker

Thomas Elfe (1719–1775), interior architect during thecolonial period of America.

Jean-Charles Ellaume (sometimes called Allaume), French cabinetmaker, received master on 6 November 1754. His workshop was onrue Traversière, in thefaubourg Saint-Antoine, in Paris.

Georges de Feure (1868-1943), decorator

TheFoliot family (18th century), cabinetmakers and joiners, including:

Nicolas-Quinibert Foliot (1706-1776), cabinetmaker

Toussaint Foliot (1715-1798), cabinetmaker

François II Foliot (1748-1808), cabinetmaker

Paul Follot (1877-1941), cabinetmaker

The Fourdinois family, including:

Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois (1799-1871), sculptor and upholsterer

Henri-Auguste Fourdinois (1830-1907), sculptor and upholsterer

Philippe Fluchaire, joiner and art cabinetmaker

Émile Gallé (1846-1904), decorator and glass artist, sculptor, marqueteur

Eugène Gaillard (1862-1933), decorator

Pierre Garnier (cabinetmaker) (1726/1727-1806), cabinetmaker and marqueteur

Antoine Gaudreaux (1680-1751), cabinetmaker

Georges Gay (late18th century), cabinetmaker

The Giroux family, tabletiers (makers of fancy goods) and cabinetmakers, including

Alphonse Giroux (19th century), tabletier and cabinetmaker

GIROUX, Alphonse.

Celebrated fancy-goods and cabinetmaking house located at 7, rue du coq Saint-honoré, in Paris. Founded by François-Simon-Alphonse GIROUX, the shop flourished from the Consulate to the end of the Second Empire, under the father and then the sons. The cabinetmaking workshop began in 1799; the father died in 1849, leaving his two sons to run the workshops and the shop. Their speciality was the making of very high-end small furniture for the bourgeoisie and the nobility. It was in his shop that Charles X and Louis XVIII chose the New Year's gifts for the young princes: Princess Louise and the Duke of Bordeaux. Alphonse GIROUX won numerous national and international awards, including a silver medal at the 1834 exhibition, and in the second half of the nineteenth century became a true reference for boxes, caskets of every description and small fancy or writing furniture. A sought-after signature, a genuinely safe investment.

TheGourdin family (18th century), chair-makers

Grohé Frères from 1830 to 1884, cabinetmakers (Guillaume and Jean-Michel)

GROHE, Guillaume.

One of the truly great signatures of the period. Born on 9 February 1808 in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, the son of a farmer. He settled in PARIS in 1827 with his brother and began as a journeyman cabinetmaker. The two brothers founded a business in 1829 and attracted notice at the 1834 French industry exhibition. Their business then developed rapidly. They set up on rue de Grenelle, then at 30 rue de Varenne in 1841, then at no. 88 in 1855, and at 7 avenue de Villars from 1861 to 1884. At this last address the firm took the trading name GROHE frères. Their success was considerable, for Guillaume was exceedingly talented. He received the Légion d'honneur in 1849. Within a few years he acquired a most brilliant reputation and specialized in furniture in the historical styles. He was supplier to King Louis Philippe, to numerous princes and princesses, to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. After 1862 he even became supplier to the Queen of England. The Duc d'Aumale entrusted him with the furnishing of Chantilly, and Mme Pelouze with that of Chenonceau. He was at once a great industrialist and one of the greatest artists of his time, a worthy successor to Boulle, Gouthière and Riesener. A true grand master of artistic cabinetmaking, over a career of fifty years he filled our museums, our palaces and our châteaux with incomparable masterpieces. His influence on the great industrial arts was profound; he secured the pre-eminence of French taste in luxury furnishing. He took part in, and shone at, a great many universal exhibitions, even becoming a vice-president and juror. He is one of the undisputed masters of modern cabinetmaking and was ranked hors concours. A very great name.

André Groult (1884-1966), decorator and furniture designer

Hector Guimard (1867-1942), architect and decorator

Jules Guiguet (1861-1912), cabinetmaker and woodcarver who worked inGrenoble

The Hache family (18th century), cabinetmakers

René Herbst (1891-1982), architect and decorator

François-Joseph-Hubert Heubès (born c. 1826 - died after 1894), Parisian cabinetmaker and antique dealer, successor to Befort (see that name) and father ofCharles Heubès

Nicolas Heurtaut (18th century), chair-maker

TheHeywood Wakefield manufactory, chair-makers and carvers

Paul Iribe (1883-1935), draughtsman, decorator, journalist and caricaturist

The Jacob family, joiners and cabinetmakers from the reign of Louis XV to the Restoration, including

Georges Jacob (1739-1814), chair-maker

Georges Jacob Fils (1768-1803), chair-maker

François-Honoré Jacob orJacob Desmalter (1770-1841), joiner and cabinetmaker

Georges-Alphonse Jacob-Desmalter (1799-1870), joiner and cabinetmaker

Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971), designer

Michel Jansen (19th century), cabinetmaker

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret known asLe Corbusier (1887-1965), architect

The Jeanselme family, from 1824 to the end of the19th century, cabinetmakers, successors to the Jacob family from 1847.

Charles Jeanselme (1856-1930)

Francis Jourdain (1876-1958), interior architect

Jean Guillaume Limouza, celebrated joiner and cabinetmaker of Lyon

Othon Kolping (1775-1853), joiner and cabinetmaker between 1800 and 1848

Antoine Krieger (1800-1860)

“Lacroix”, seeRoger Vandercruse, (1728-1799), cabinetmaker

The Leleu family, including:

Jean-François Leleu (1729-1807), master cabinetmaker in Paris in 1764

Jules Leleu (1883-1961), cabinetmaker and decorator

André Leleu (20th century), cabinetmaker and decorator

The Lemarchand family, between 1790 and 1850, cabinetmakers, including:

Charles-Joseph Lemarchand, (1759-1826), cabinetmaker;

Louis-Édouard Lemarchand, (1795-1872), son of the above, cabinetmaker;

Étienne Levasseur (1721-1798), cabinetmaker

Édouard Lièvre (1828-1886), designer and ornamentalist

François Linke (1855-1946), cabinetmaker, active from 1880 to 1918

Guillaume-Edmond Lexcellent (1834- ?), cabinetmaker

Giuseppe Maggiolini (1738-1814), Italian cabinetmaker

André Mailfert

Louis Majorelle (1859-1926), cabinetmaker and decorator

Robert Mallet-Stevens (1886-1945), interior architect

André Mare (1885-1932), cabinetmaker

Nicolas Louis Mariette master joiner and cabinetmaker in 1770

The Mansion family,18th century, joiners and cabinetmakers in the faubourg Saint-Antoine, Paris, including:

Antoine Mansion (1716-1783)

Simon Mansion (1741-1805), cabinetmaker, son of the above, whose 4 sons were also cabinetmakers:

Antoine Simon Mansion (1764-1835), received master cabinetmaker in 1786, supplier to the Imperial Garde-Meuble

Antoine Simon Mansion (1777-1855)

Simon Nicolas Mansion (1773-1854) known as Mansion Jeune, cabinetmaker; he was also a sculptor.

Jean Laurent Mansion (1776-1824), supplier to the Imperial Garde-Meuble.

André Mare (1885-1932), cabinetmaker

Conrad Mauter (1742-1810), master cabinetmaker, supplier to the Comte d'Artois

Jean-Paul Mazaroz, sculptor and cabinetmaker (second half of the19th century)

Claude Mercier (1802-1880), cabinetmaker in the faubourg Saint-Antoine

The Migeon family, all named Pierre,18th century, joiners and cabinetmakers:

Pierre Migeon I, cabinetmaker,

Pierre Migeon II (before 1637-c. 1677), cabinetmaker.

Pierre Migeon III (1665-1717), cabinetmaker.

Pierre Migeon IV (1696-1758), cabinetmaker, notably supplier to theMarquise de Pompadour.

Pierre Migeon V (1733-1775), cabinetmaker.

Bernard Molitor (1755-1833), cabinetmaker

Philippe-Claude Montigny (1734-1800), cabinetmaker

The Monbro family, between 1830 and 1870, cabinetmakers, restorers and antique dealers

Louis Moreau, master cabinetmaker in 1764

The Nadal family, including:

Jean Nadal known as “Nadal l'aîné”,18th century, cabinetmaker

Jean-René Nadal (1733-1783), cabinetmaker

Nivert, (18th century), cabinetmaker

Jean-François Oeben (1720-1763), cabinetmaker

Gilles-Marie Oppenordt (1672-1742), cabinetmaker

Louis Peridiez (1731-1795), cabinetmaker

Nicolas Petit (1732-1791), cabinetmaker

Pinard, mid-19th century, cabinetmaker between 1848 and 1853

Philippe-Joseph Pluvinet, (Louis XV,18th century), chair-maker

Pommier, under the Consulate and the Empire, cabinetmaker

Jean Popsel (1720 – 1785), received master in 1755, cabinetmaker

Félix Rémond (1779-1860?), cabinetmaker

Riboullier

Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806), cabinetmaker

Laurent Rochette (1723-?), cabinetmaker

David Roentgen (1743-1809), cabinetmaker

André-Jacob Roubo (1739-1791), cabinetmaker

Clément Rousseau (1872-1950), sculptor and designer

Pierre Roussel (1723-1782), cabinetmaker and marqueteur

Hubert Roux (1731-1805), cabinetmaker

Jean-Baptiste Roux (1764-1836), cabinetmaker, son of the above. Son-in-law of the cabinetmakerSimon Mansion

François Rubestuck (1722-1785), cabinetmaker

Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann (1879-1933), decorator and designer

The Sambin family, including:

Hugues Sambin (1515-1602), architect and sculptor

François Sambin (17th century), joiner, son of the above

Claude-Charles Saunier (1735-1807), cabinetmaker

Auguste-Hippolyte Sauvrezy (1815-1854)

Sellier (1806-1830), cabinetmaker and chair-maker

Claude Séné (1724-?), cabinetmaker and chair-maker

Jean-Baptiste Séné, cabinetmaker and chair-maker

Paul Sormani (1817-1877), cabinetmaker

Louis Soubrier

Joseph Stockel late18th century, cabinetmaker

Louis Süe (1875-1968), cabinetmaker

Jean-Pierre Tahan (1813-70)

SORMANI, Paul.

Born at Canzo, in Venetia, on 25 October 1817. One of the most expert makers of fruitwood marquetry. According to some, the most brilliant of them all. He specialized in small precious objects, but was equally capable of producing side cabinets, consoles and exceptional commodes. His first address was at 7 cimetière saint Nicolas, then at 114 rue du temple. The latter proved to be the most prestigious: there the firm expanded greatly, specializing in furniture in the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles. The business was then transferred to 10 rue Charlot in 1867, by which time it employed 150 workers. Sormani remained active until his death in 1877. In 1849 he won a bronze medal, then a first-class medal at the 1855 Universal Exhibition, and second prize in London in 1862.

Guillaume Thirion (1995-…), joiner and cabinetmaker

Jean-François Thuillier (received master in 1752), cabinetmaker

TheTilliard family,18th century, chair-makers

Charles Topino (1725-1789?), cabinetmaker and marqueteur

Eugène Vallin (1856–1922), cabinetmaker

Bernard Van Riesenburgh, (1700-1760), cabinetmaker, son ofBernard Van Risamburgh

Bernard Van Risamburgh (1670-1738)

Roger Vandercruse known as “Lacroix” (1728-1799), cabinetmaker and marqueteur

Vervelle (1838-1893), great cabinetmaker of the Second Empire

VERVELLE, Alexandre-Louis.

Born in PARIS in 1800 and died in 1856. One of the good cabinetmakers of the period. The Vervelle house was founded by his father, Jean-François, in 1804. His speciality was small furniture and boxes and caskets of every description, as well as upholstery (his first trade was that of upholsterer). His first business was at 1, rue Neuve Montmorency, then at 11 and 14 rue Feydeau in 1825. By 1840 he employed nearly a hundred workers. He then produced fantasy furniture, wedding baskets, liqueur cellarettes, and travelling kits and necessaires. In 1830 he published the bulletin du magasin des nouveautés, listing all the small objects he manufactured. The VERVELLE house was by then solidly established, able to produce objects of great quality at reasonable prices. In his hands, ebony, tortoiseshell, tulipwood and rosewood bend to the most capricious and original forms. Copper, ivory and mother-of-pearl are inlaid in designs of the happiest effect. He took part in the exhibitions of 1827, 1844 and 1855, where he won honorary awards. A signature of quality, especially after 1835.

Gabriel Viardot (1830-1906)

Luc Volpe (1920-2013), cabinetmaker and marqueteur, Rue de Candie (Paris)

Claude Wagner or Wagener, (1775-1832), cabinetmaker and varnisher

The Wassmus or Weissmusc family,19th century, cabinetmakers, including:

Henri-Léonard Wassmus,19th century, designer and cabinetmaker

Hans Wegner (20th century), designer

Adam Weisweiler (1744-1820), cabinetmaker

Jean-Jacques Werner (1791-1849), cabinetmaker

Charles Winckelsen (1812-1871)

Zwiener, late19th century, cabinetmaker