Cooper Hewitt Highlights 1791 French Ceramic Stove Catalog as Revolutionary Marketing
The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is featuring a rare 1791 sales catalog for ceramic stove heaters from the Ollivier manufactory in Paris. This catalog, part of the Decloux Collection, contains 18 designs printed both as uncolored engravings and hand-colored plates, allowing customization. Created during the French Revolution, it represents an early use of France's new patent law and demonstrates how manufacturer Louis François Ollivier adapted his business to political upheaval by securing patents for techniques like imitation marble and porcelain-like faience. The catalog, designed by Bosse and engraved by Louis-Gustave Taraval, features neoclassical motifs and is held in several major institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Victoria & Albert Museum.
Key facts
- A 1791 sales catalog for ceramic stoves from the Ollivier manufactory is featured in the Decloux Collection at Cooper Hewitt.
- Louis François Ollivier secured patents in 1791 under France's new revolutionary law for eight ceramic techniques.
- The catalog contains 18 designs, each presented as both uncolored engravings and hand-colored plates to allow client customization.
- Ollivier presented a Bastille-shaped stove to the National Convention in 1792, now in the Musée Carnavalet in Paris.
- Copies of the catalog exist in collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sir John Soane's Museum, and Victoria & Albert Museum.
Entities
Artists
- Bosse
- Louis-Gustave Taraval
Institutions
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Sir John Soane's Museum
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- Musée Carnavalet
- Bibliothèque de l'Institut National d'Histoire de L'Art
- Bibliothèque Municipale de Besançon
Locations
- Paris, France