France
St. Cloud. A factory was established here about 1695 for the production of porcelain, at which time M. Morin was proprietor, and M. Chicanneau director of the works.
According to letters patent of 1702, granted to the heirs of Chicanneau, his widow, Barbe Courdray, and her children, were interested in the works; their father had made many experiments and attempts to discover the secret of true porcelain, and from the year 1696 had produced some nearly equal to the porcelain of China. His children, to whom he imparted the secret, successfully continued the fabrication, and were permitted to manufacture porcelain at St. Cloud, or in any other part or parts of the kingdom, except Rouen and its faubourgs. In 1712 a renewal of the patent took place for ten years, and in the meantime the widow Barbe Courdray married a M. Trou.
In 1722 letters patent were granted for twenty years more to Jean and Jean Baptiste Chicanneau, Marie Moreau, the widow of Pierre Chicanneau (third son) and Henri and Gabriel Trou, children of Barbe Courdray by her second marriage. About this time serious disagreements occurred between the two families, and they separated, Gabriel and Henri Trou remaining at St. Cloud, patronised by the Duke of Orleans; while Marie Moreau opened another establishment in the Rue de la Ville l’Évêque, Faubourg St. Honoré, directed by Dominique François Chicanneau. In 1742 another arrêt granted privileges for twenty years to both these establishments, and Marie Moreau dying in 1743 left Dominique her business.
The manufactory at St. Cloud was destroyed by fire (the act of an incendiary) in 1773, and the manufacture ceased, the proprietors not being able to raise sufficient funds to rebuild it.
Chantilly. This manufactory was founded in 1725 by Ciquaire Cirou, under the patronage of the Prince de Condé, as appears by letters patent dated 1735, who was succeeded by Antheaume and others. The porcelain was highly esteemed, and there was hardly any object which they did not produce, from the lofty vase to the simplest knife handle. The Chantilly pattern was a great favourite for ordinary services; it was called “Barbeau,” and consisted of a small blue flower running over the white paste.
Rouen. Louis Poterat, Sieur de St. Ètienne, of St. Sever, at Rouen, obtained letters patent in 1673, stating that he had discovered processes for fabricating porcelain similar to that of China, and wares resembling those of Delft; but the former was of a very rude character and never arrived at any perfection.
After the establishment at St. Cloud had commenced selling porcelain, the proprietors of the Rouen manufactory appear to have revived their porcelain in the hopes of competing with them, but with no good result.
Mennecy-Villeroy. This important manufactory was established in 1735 by François Barbin, under the patronage of the Duc de Villeroy. The early specimens are similar to the porcelaine tendre of St. Cloud, of a milky translucent appearance.
Barbin was succeeded about 1748 by Messieurs Jacques and Jullien, and the manufactory continued in a flourishing state until 1773, when on the expiration of the lease it was removed to Bourg-la-Reine.
Sceaux Penthièvre, near Paris. Established in 1750 by Jacques Chapelle; it was situated opposite the Petit Châtelet, and was under the patronage of the Duc de Penthièvre. It was carried on by Glot in 1773. The Prince-Protector died in 1794, but the production of pâte tendre ceased before that time.
Arras. Established in 1782 by the Demoiselles Deleneur, under the patronage of M. de Calonne, Intendant de Flandre et de l’Artois; it only lasted a few years.
Boulogne-sur-mer. Established by M. Haffringue, in the 19th century, with the kaolin of Limoges.
Étiolles (Seine-et-Oise), near Corbeil. Established in 1768, by Monnier, for soft paste porcelain. The works lasted only a short time.
Lille. Established in 1711 by Barthélemy Dorez and Pierre Pelissier, his nephew, natives of Lille. The porcelain (pâte tendre) of this time was like that of St. Cloud, but in the Delft style, the favourite ornamentation being Chinese designs. At a later period (in 1784) a manufactory of hard porcelain was established by Leperre Durot, under the patronage of the Dauphin; it was styled “Manufacture Royale de Monseigneur le Dauphin.” The porcelain of Leperre Durot is richly adorned with gold and with carefully painted bouquets of flowers.
M. Roger succeeded Leperre Durot, and in 1792 he sold his interest in the works to Messieurs Regnault and Graindorge; they were, however, soon ruined, and the establishment was closed.
Bourg-la-Reine. Started in 1773 by Messieurs Jacques and Jullien, who removed thither on the expiration of their lease at Mennecy. It was in active existence, making china purely of an industrial character, in 1788.
Clignancourt. Established in 1775 by Pierre Deruelle, under the patronage of Monsieur le Comte de Provence, brother of the king (afterwards Louis XVIII.).
Lunéville. A factory called “Manufacture Stanislas” was established in 1731. It lasted only a short time, but a later manufactory, founded about 1769, was celebrated for its productions.
Paul Louis Cyfflé, sculptor, obtained, in 1768, letters patent for fifteen years, by virtue of which he established another manufactory for superior vessels of the material called terre de Lorraine, and in the following year a new privilege was granted for making groups and statuettes with his improved paste, under the name of pâte de marbre.
Orleans. Established by M. Gerréault in 1753, under the protection of the Duc de Penthièvre; the porcelain first made here was of the soft paste, but hard paste was subsequently produced. Gerréault was succeeded by Bourdon fils about 1788, Piédor, Dubois, and lastly, Le Brun, from 1808 to 1811.
Niderviller. Established about 1760 by Baron de Beyerlé. After successfully carrying on this branch for several years, he attempted hard porcelain in 1768, and procured potters and artists from Saxony. Three or four years before his death, which happened in 1784, the estate was bought by General de Custine. This new proprietor continued the fabrique, under the direction of M. Lanfray, who paid especial attention to the production of fine porcelain; the fabrication of statuettes was greatly increased.
ORLEANS
After the decapitation of the unfortunate de Custine, his estates, being forfeited to the Republic, were sold on the 25 Germinal, An X (1802), to M. Lanfray, and carried on by him until his death in 1827, when the manufactory was sold to L. G. Dryander, of Saarbrücken. For many years he continued to make porcelain, as well as fayence groups and statuettes, but the distance of his fabrique from the kaolin of St. Yrieix prevented him from competing successfully with those of Limoges, and this branch was abandoned.
Boissette, near Melun. A factory was established in 1777 by Jacques Vermonet père et fils, but it lasted only a short time.
Caen, Normandy. Established and supported by some of the principal inhabitants, at the time of the French Revolution (about 1793), when several workmen from Sèvres came to join it. It was carried on for a few years, but no market being found for the ware, the factory was discontinued at the commencement of the last century. It is hard paste, and equal to that of Sèvres, and of the same forms.
Valenciennes (Nord). By an Order of Council, dated 24th May 1785, M. Fauquet was permitted to carry on a manufacture of porcelain at Valenciennes. He was originally established at St. Amand in the manufacture of fayence as early as 1775, and probably carried on both works simultaneously.
St. Amand-les-eaux. Founded by M. Maximilien de Bettignies in 1815, for the manufacture of pâte tendre porcelain like the old Sèvres. He was formerly proprietor of the Tournai manufactory, which he ceded to his brother Henri when that city became re-annexed to Belgium.
Strassburg. About the year 1752, Paul Hannong obtained the secret of true porcelain from Ringler, and started a factory here, but in consequence of the monopoly of Sèvres he was compelled to relinquish it, and in 1753 removed to Frankenthal, where he greatly flourished under the protection of the Elector Palatine Carl Theodore.
Marseilles. An important manufactory of porcelain was established here by Jacques Gaspard Robert about 1766. Porcelain was made also by Honoré Savy and Veuve Perrin, but was only of secondary importance. The works were closed about the period of the French Revolution in 1793.
Paris. Rue Thiroux. Established in 1778 by André Marie Lebeuf, and the ware was called “Porcelaine de la Reine.”
Paris. Rue de Bondy. Opened in 1780 by Dihl and Guerhard, under the patronage of the Duc d’Angoulême, and the ware was called “Porcelaine d’Angoulême.”
Paris. Rue Fontaine au Roi. This factory, called “De la Courtille,” was established in 1773 by Jean Baptiste Locré, who was afterwards joined by Russinger in 1784. The latter during the Revolution became sole director.
Paris. Faubourg St. Honoré. A factory was established here by Veuve Chicanneau, née Marie Moreau. The teapot, Fig. 224, was probably made at these works.
Paris. Pont-aux-Choux. In 1784, Louis Honoré de la Marre de Villars opened an establishment for the manufacture of porcelain in the Rue des Boulets, Faubourg St. Antoine. It was afterwards disposed of to Jean Baptiste Outrequin de Montarcy and Edmé Toulouse, who in 1786 obtained a brêvet from the Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe Joseph, and authority to sign the productions with the letters L. P., and to take the title of Manufacture de M. le Duc d’Orléans. They were afterwards established in Rue Amelot, au Pont-aux-Choux, by which name the porcelain is generally known.
The former name ceased in 1793, with the condemnation of the Duke of Orleans, and the objects subsequently produced were inscribed merely “Fabrique du Pont-aux-Choux.”
Paris. Rue de Crussol. Established in 1789 by Charles Potter, an Englishman, and the ware was called the “Prince of Wales’s China.”
Paris. Belleville. Originally established in 1790 by Jacob Petit; but later removed to Fontainebleau. The products of the first period were much esteemed, being well painted and well modelled, bearing Petit’s mark; but the proprietor unwisely altered his original plan and imitated Dresden, counterfeiting also the mark of the crossed swords. Jacob Petit also made biscuit figures, birds’ nests, flowers, &c.
Paris. Rue du Faubourg St. Denis. Fabrique de Charles Philippe Comte d’Artois, afterwards Charles X. This manufacture was the most ancient of all those established in Paris. Hannong of Strassburg, who brought into France the secret of hard porcelain, formed the first establishment in 1769. Having obtained the protection of Charles Philippe, Comte d’Artois, it was called by his name. The factory belonged actually to Bourdon des Planches, who continued the manufacture of hard porcelain, &c., but the works were closed in 1810.
Vincennes. There was a porcelain manufactory here in 1786, quite apart from the royal factory. It was directed by M. Le Maire, probably the same who founded that in Rue Popincourt, which was ceded to M. Nast in 1783. There were four establishments at Vincennes; the first by the brothers Dubois, subsequently transferred to Sèvres; the second by Maurin des Aubiez, in 1767; the third by Pierre Antoine Hannong; and the fourth that described above.