Jules Allard and Sons
Encyclopedia
The Parisian firm of Jules Allard and Sons (or Jules Allard et Fils), in business between 1878 and Allard's death in 1907, was one of the most notable interior decorating houses of the turn of the twentieth century. The firm opened a New York branch in 1885. Allard's Paris origin reinforced the firm's credibility in composing "high style" French interiors for the American elite, at times employing authentic boiseries, mirrors and chimneypieces, skillfully extended and adapted for results that were comprehensive, acceptably correct from an academic point-of-view and socially conservative. Architectural fittings and sculpture were provided from the firm's ateliers, as well as furniture and upholstery, carpets, curtains and hangings.
Allard, who employed, retained and collaborated with architects, had an arrangement with the designer Eugène Prignot, with whom he formed a partnership for the New York branch of his business. Prignot also provided designs for the London furniture makers Jackson and Graham; his prize-winning designs for elaborate draperies and curtains were exhibited at World's Fairs and published in engravings. Allard's Paris showrooms were in rue de Châteaudun. According to the 1895 London street directory the company, 'Jules Allard & Sons, Decorators' also had a branch in the heart of London's architectural quarter at No.9 Buckingham Street, Adelphi, just off the Strand.
The French salon supplied by Allard at the William Kissam Vanderbilt
house at 660 Fifth Avenue helped launch the taste for French dix-huitième interiors in New York City. This room and what was called a "lady's room" in the house of William Henry Vanderbilt
at 640 Fifth Avenue ensured the American reputation of Jules Allard's firm (founded in 1878), which traded in New York as Allard and Sons from 1885, becoming the pre-eminent source for French architectural interiors until the death of Jules Allard in 1907. The firm was subsequently absorbed by Lucien Alavoine and Company.
In the leading northeastern resort of Newport, Rhode Island
alone, Allard and Sons worked on the interiors of Richard Morris Hunt
's The Breakers
. There they cooperated with the decorator Ogden Codman, Jr.
who permitted AF to be incorporated into the painted designs of the Music Room ceiling; that room and the state dining room, were entirely constructed in Allard's Paris workshops, disassembled, and shipped across the Atlantic. At Hunt's Marble House
Allard's name is connected with the Gothic Room and is to be found on the bronze figures reclining on the pedimented mantel in the Grand Salon. Elsewhere in Newport, at The Elms
, Allard's name is cast in the bronze lion and crocodile group on the terrace; Allard worked also at Vernon Court
. Allard et Fils were the favored decorators of the architect Horace Trumbauer
. and of Stanford White
, whose own New York house in Gramercy Park
was fitted out to his own designs, by Jules Allard and his son, Georges.
Beginning with the highly finished ink and watercolor presentation sketches for interiors that Allard's draughtsmen could deliver through an architect the Allard workshops, working either with sketches or specification drawings from architects, could extend old panelling or equally well design and execute new, and finish their carved and molded surfaces with gilding and decorative painting, done in-house. Accurate reproductions of Louis XV and Luis XVI seat furniture could be built, gilded and upholstered. Allard maintained close connections with textile workshops to provide appropriate silks and velvets for upholstery, window curtains and portières.
Allard, who employed, retained and collaborated with architects, had an arrangement with the designer Eugène Prignot, with whom he formed a partnership for the New York branch of his business. Prignot also provided designs for the London furniture makers Jackson and Graham; his prize-winning designs for elaborate draperies and curtains were exhibited at World's Fairs and published in engravings. Allard's Paris showrooms were in rue de Châteaudun. According to the 1895 London street directory the company, 'Jules Allard & Sons, Decorators' also had a branch in the heart of London's architectural quarter at No.9 Buckingham Street, Adelphi, just off the Strand.
The French salon supplied by Allard at the William Kissam Vanderbilt
William Kissam Vanderbilt
William Kissam Vanderbilt was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. He managed railroads and was a horse breeder.-Biography:...
house at 660 Fifth Avenue helped launch the taste for French dix-huitième interiors in New York City. This room and what was called a "lady's room" in the house of William Henry Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt I was an American businessman and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family.-Childhood:William Vanderbilt was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1821...
at 640 Fifth Avenue ensured the American reputation of Jules Allard's firm (founded in 1878), which traded in New York as Allard and Sons from 1885, becoming the pre-eminent source for French architectural interiors until the death of Jules Allard in 1907. The firm was subsequently absorbed by Lucien Alavoine and Company.
In the leading northeastern resort of Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
alone, Allard and Sons worked on the interiors of Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
's The Breakers
The Breakers
The Breakers is a Vanderbilt mansion located on Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, United States on the Atlantic Ocean. It is a National Historic Landmark, a contributing property to the Bellevue Avenue Historic District, and is owned and operated by the Preservation Society of Newport...
. There they cooperated with the decorator Ogden Codman, Jr.
Ogden Codman, Jr.
Ogden Codman, Jr. was a noted American architect and interior decorator in the Beaux-Arts styles, and co-author with Edith Wharton of The Decoration of Houses , which became a standard in American interior design....
who permitted AF to be incorporated into the painted designs of the Music Room ceiling; that room and the state dining room, were entirely constructed in Allard's Paris workshops, disassembled, and shipped across the Atlantic. At Hunt's Marble House
Marble House
Marble House is one of the Gilded Age mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, now open to the public as a museum. It was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt, and said to be inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles . Grounds were designed by noted landscape architect Ernest W...
Allard's name is connected with the Gothic Room and is to be found on the bronze figures reclining on the pedimented mantel in the Grand Salon. Elsewhere in Newport, at The Elms
The Elms
The Elms may refer to:Places in Canada*The Elms, Toronto, a neighbourhood in TorontoBuildings and places in Great Britain*The Elms an historic Gothic house in Bedhampton, United Kingdom...
, Allard's name is cast in the bronze lion and crocodile group on the terrace; Allard worked also at Vernon Court
Vernon Court
Vernon Court is a Gilded Age mansion, located at 492 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, on the Atlantic coast of the United States. Its design is an adaptation of an 18th century French château, Château d'Haroué.-History:...
. Allard et Fils were the favored decorators of the architect Horace Trumbauer
Horace Trumbauer
Horace Trumbauer was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of the campus of Duke University...
. and of Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
, whose own New York house in Gramercy Park
Gramercy Park
Gramercy Park is a small, fenced-in private park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park is at the core of both the neighborhood referred to as either Gramercy or Gramercy Park and the Gramercy Park Historic District...
was fitted out to his own designs, by Jules Allard and his son, Georges.
Beginning with the highly finished ink and watercolor presentation sketches for interiors that Allard's draughtsmen could deliver through an architect the Allard workshops, working either with sketches or specification drawings from architects, could extend old panelling or equally well design and execute new, and finish their carved and molded surfaces with gilding and decorative painting, done in-house. Accurate reproductions of Louis XV and Luis XVI seat furniture could be built, gilded and upholstered. Allard maintained close connections with textile workshops to provide appropriate silks and velvets for upholstery, window curtains and portières.