Dominique Daguerre was a Parisian ''

marchand-mercier A ''marchand-mercier'' is a French term for a type of entrepreneur working outside the guild system of craftsmen but carefully constrained by the regulations of a ''corporation'' under rules codified in 1613. The reduplicative term literally mean ...

'' who was in partnership from 1772 with Simon-Philippe Poirier, an arbiter of taste and the inventor of furniture mounted with

Sèvres porcelain Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for it ...

plaques; Daguerre assumed Poirier's business at ''La Couronne d'Or'' in the Faubourg Saint-Honoré in 1777/78. Daguerre commissioned furniture from ''

ébéniste ''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony. Etymology and ambiguities As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equiva ...

s'' such as

Adam Weisweiler Adam Weisweiler (c.1750 — after 1810) was a pre-eminent French master cabinetmaker (''ébéniste'') in the Louis XVI period, working in Paris. Weisweiler is said to have been born at Neuwied-am-Rhein and to have received his early training in ...

Martin Carlin Martin Carlin (c. 1730–1785) was a Parisian ''ébéniste'' ( cabinet-maker), born at Freiburg, who was received as Master ''Ébéniste'' at Paris on 30 July 1766. Renowned for his "graceful furniture mounted with Sèvres porcelain", Carlin fed in ...

and Claude-Charles Saunier, and ''menuisiers'' like

Georges Jacob Georges Jacob (6 July 1739 – 5 July 1814) was one of the two most prominent Parisian master ''menuisiers''. He produced carved, painted and gilded beds and seat furniture and upholstery work for the French royal châteaux, in the Neoclassical s ...

, for whom he would provide designs, for resale to his clients, in the manner of an

interior decorator Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

. A series of watercolours that Daguerre sent to Albert, Duke of Sachsen-Teschen, the brother-in-law of

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

, who was refurnishing the castle of

Laeken () or () is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the City of Brussels and is mostly identified by the ...

near Brussels, are at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

By the early 1780s Daguerre had moved to London and formed a partnership with Martin-Eloi Lignereux, who remained in Paris. Daguerre set up premises in Sloane Street, Chelsea. He was responsible for furnishing interiors at

Carlton House Carlton House was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of King George IV. It faced the south side of Pall Mall, and its gardens abutted St James's Park in the St James's district of London. The location of the house, no ...

, where his account in 1787 for furniture and furnishings totalled £14,565 13s 6d, and at

Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion, and surrounding gardens, also known as the Brighton Pavilion, is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Pri ...

for George, Prince of Wales, 1787-89. Even chimneypieces were imported from Paris, to be adjusted by craftsmen in London, according to surviving bills. At Carlton House, at

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, a ...

, and for Earl Spencer at

Althorp Althorp (popularly pronounced ) is a Grade I listed stately home and estate in the civil parish of Althorp, in West Northamptonshire, England of about . By road it is about northwest of the county town of Northampton and about northwest of c ...

(1790) Daguerre worked in loose collaboration with the architect Henry Holland, though he emphasized in one Carlton House bill, "''son Altesse Royale Seul m'a donné des orders''" Similar sets of mahogany chairs by Georges Jacob, with

openwork Openwork or open-work is a term in art history, architecture and related fields for any technique that produces decoration by creating holes, piercings, or gaps that go right through a solid material such as metal, wood, stone, pottery, cloth, l ...

backs in lozenges and circles, are in the Royal Collection and in the Library, at Woburn, where Holland was executing alterations; they are likely to have been supplied through Daguerre.Dorothy Stroud, ''Henry Holland, His Life and Architecture'' (1966), p 79.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daguerre, Dominique French artisans Year of birth missing Year of death missing