Maison Duvelleroy: Fan Purveyor Extraordinaire

Associate Curator Christina Johnson writes about the extraordinary Duvelleroy fans in the FIDM Museum Collection. The Fan Association of North America (FANA) generously supported the archival display of select fans in this blog for FANtasy: The Mona Lee Nesseth Fan Collection at the FIDM Museum.

Duvelleroy catalogue, c. 1903, Gift of Serge Davoudian, SC2019.1728.1

By the late nineteenth-century, the Parisian house of Duvelleroy was one of the most renowned fan purveyors in in the western world. Éventailliste (fan maker) Jean-Pierre Duvelleroy (1802-1889) founded his company in 1827.[1] Not only did Duvelleroy oversee the artistry of his namesake designs, he also patented important elements of their manufacture, such as an improved pleating mold and innovative hardware. Duvelleroy matched artistic and mechanical inclinations with keen business acumen, planning workshop space and boutiques to support an ample profit. By 1845, his workshops were located at 17, Passage des Panoramas, a well-known shopping arcade, and his boutique opened at 15, Rue de la Paix. The Paris-based house would change addresses over the years, but boutiques were always located near the latest tony shopping areas, such as the Boulevard des Capucines and Boulevard de la Madeleine in Paris.

Interior of Boutique Duvelleroy, about 1905. Published in: Madeleine Delpierre, L’ Éventail: Miroir de la Belle Epoque, Palais Galliera: 1985.

Sons Jules (1839-unknown) and Georges (1856-1930) worked for their father, and continued the family business after his passing in 1889. The London branch of the house opened in 1861 and was overseen by Jules. Meanwhile, Georges was responsible for the continuation of the French workshops and boutiques, which expanded beyond Paris to the resort towns of Nice and Deauville by the early twentieth century.  Duvelleroy fans were advertised in their yearly catalogues and shipped around the globe. Newspapers and magazine advertisements proclaimed: “For Birthday, Presents, Weddings--The largest and most artistic collection in the world. Fans sent on approval and made to match dresses.”[2] Georges Duvelleroy successfully expanded the company’s offerings from the latest handfan designs to custom orders, specialty purses, opera glasses, and antique fans. What follows are highlights from the FIDM Museum’s Duvelleroy collection.

Fan and detail, c. 1903, Gift of Mona Lee Nesseth, 2013.975.16A/B

A shopping guide included an entry for the famed Duvelleroy establishment in 1897:

"We are reminded of the high reputation enjoyed by Duvelleroy…. His pretty shop is an artistic study of all that is newest in Parisian fans, and of the best that has been handed down to us from days of old. M. Duvelleroy has fans to suit all purses, inexpensive as well as costly, all possessed of the cachet of perfect taste."[3] 

Both Jean-Pierre and Georges had abiding interests in eighteenth-century fan artistry. Father maintained a collection of prints and engravings, while son continued to amass an important collection of antique fans. These items from the “days of old” were often used as revivalist design inspiration, as seen in this example featuring carved mother-of-pearl sticks and a hand-painted courting couple dressed in styles similar to the 1780s (but note the lady’s hat and hairstyle are spot-on c. 1903!). Similar to embellishments decorating eighteenth-century evening attire, metal sequins stamped in circular, leaf, and star shapes were sewn onto the leaf by hand.