19th Century French Secretaire Flap "Billet Doux", Also Called "Portfolio"

A fine 19th Century French ormolu-mounted envelope card table by Sormani Paris. The revolving fold out top enclosing a gilt tooled baize lined interior above a frieze drawer ; The r...

A French 19th Century Pair of Large Rectangular Curule Stools Partially gilt, blackened and red lacquered wood, carved decoration with acanthus leaves and rosaces. The 4 feet linked by a stretcher. Louis XVI Style Napoléon III Period Circa 1900 Used tartan chintz upholstery Attributed to Maison Jansen Jansen, the French Luxury Opulence, refinement, audacity of style marriages… so many words agree with Maison Jansen. Through this name, a whole era sounds like a reminder of a certain French chic… Some names evoke immutable images, atmospheres... Like Jansen, for example. Let’s close our eyes… The 1960s and 1970s are at their peak. France is doing well. It is a country of full employment where everything seems possible. Within the international Jet Set, a carefree crowd of movie stars, public figures, literary idols and crowned heads, we love the Maison Jansen, its taste for styles struck with a good quality exuberance, and its brilliant side. It all began in 1880, when the Dutchman Jean Henri Jansen founded the eponymous house in Paris. Jansen is part of the continuity of these world-famous furniture manufacturers and companies that operated under the Second Empire and at the time of the Universal Exhibitions, as the ‘Escalier de Cristal’ teaches. At that time, the Union Centrale des Beaux-Arts appliqués à l'Industrie and the Société du musée des Arts Décoratifs merged to form the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs. Supported by both gallery owners, collectors and manufacturers, this organization gives the «la» to the whole profession, and in the prevailing politico-ideological slump (France was defeated by Prussia in 1871 and Napoleon III is in exile), the ‘Union Centrale des Art Décoratifs’ focuses production on the celebration of past styles. While this nostalgia evokes memories of an era that we imagine more stable, an innovative exoticism will be all the rage: the reign of Turkish style and Japonisme. The Jansen house masterfully rushed into the «exotic» trend, but quickly developed a style derived from the ornamental splendor of the eighteenth, then a little later, so-called «imperial» styles mainly intended for royal families. After the First World War, J.H Jansen was joined by the cartoonist Albert Cazes, by Stéphane Boudin and by Pierre Delbée, who successively directed the house when it disappeared in 1929. At the end of the Kennedy era, Boudin completely redecorated the White House, at the request of the First Lady, Jackie, who had fallen in love with his work after discovering it at Malmaison. In 1971, Jansen joined forces with Leleu-Deshays and continued its quest for excellence. From 1969 to 1979, the dandy decorator Serge Robin took the reins of the house, granting it an eclectic and luxurious style: he revisited the great eras of French art, from the Renaissance to Louis XVI, by modernizing them with more contemporary pieces in Plexiglas or wrought iron. His recom-posed and sophisticated style met with resounding success. When Jackie Kennedy, who became the wife of the great Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis, moved to France, the young architect married Louis XVI-style furniture to modernist designs from the 1950s. When the Shah of Iran decided to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Persian Empire in 1971, Serge Robin and his teams turned to the grandiose and ephemeral setting of Persepolis. A hundred semi-trailers then left the workshops on Rue Saint-Sabin to reach Teheran. At the same time, Princess Soraya of Iran commissioned her a sumptuous palace for Avenue Montaigne, the princes Faisal bin Fahd of Arabia and Mubarak Al-Sabah, and the Agnelli snatched it. On the French side, he puts his talent at the service of Brigitte Bardot, for whom he completely revamped the Madrague and the Lannes boulevard. Serge Robin embodies all the audacity of the name Jansen with the most im-probable weddings. With him, Plexiglas tables, Japanese chairs from the 50s, gold thread curtains, zebra sofas and leather Louis XVI style chests of drawers decorated the most fashionable apartments of the «seventies». All the best stories have an end. At the dawn of the 1990s, weakened by the changes of a society plagued by concern, the disappearance or the remoteness of noble families, and the increasing scarcity of bourgeois residences, the Jansen house lost its aging clientele. The brand is missing the turn of modernity, and cannot adapt to changes in society, changing tastes, and the importance of design. In 1989, it was closed. Jansen has not disappeared from the landscape: the house’s creations are still present on the market and in the French auction houses, but also in the United States, where they are very appreciated. Transparent Plexiglas tables, leather and metal armchairs, zebra sofas, exotic cabinets...

A Louis Philippe period (1830–1848) fruitwood secretaire abattant fall front desk. Born in France in the mid-19th century, hand-crafted of rich solid fruitwood with warm wood tones, subtle grain detail, and nicely aged mellow patina over the whole. Finished in French Empire taste, having a molded cornice, concealed ogee frieze drawer with dovetail joinery, over fall front panel, opening to reveal original fitted interior gallery, with inset gilt tooled leather writing surface, large open shelf cubby, six drawers of various size, above double-door cabinet with brass shield escutcheon that opens to provide generous storage space, and an additional lower drawer for valuables hidden in the base molding, rising on square feet. Dimensions: (approx) 56.75" High 41" Wide, 17.5" Deep History/Back Story: Louis Philippe furniture had the same types and forms as the earlier French Restoration style, but with less decoration; comfort was the primary consideration. During the turbulent French Revolution and following Napoleon rule, Louis Philippe (1773-1850) remained in exile for 21 years until the Bourbon Restoration, when he became the King of the French from 1830 to 1848. For the first time, the developing upper class–not the monarchy–influenced the progression of this style’s characteristics. However, King Louis Philippe’s personality still inspired many aspects.  His casual nature reflected this style’s informal, comfortable build. Much of the style was taken from the personality of the King himself. Unlike his Bourbon predecessors, he wore business dress...

Very fine late 19th century French writing desk secretary with dore bronze mountings and Marble. It is made of a variety of woods - f...