Giroux

Maison Alphonse Giroux was established in 1799 by François-Simon-Alphonse Giroux, an art restorer and cabinetmaker. Based at 7 Rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré in Paris, the business initially specialised in artists’ supplies alongside examples of Giroux’s own cabinetmaking. It soon expanded into the manufacture and retailing of luxury goods, decorative objects and works of art, attracting the patronage of French kings and members of the royal family.

Giroux’s sons, André and Alphonse-Gustave, joined the business in 1834. In the same year, Maison Giroux was awarded a silver medal at the Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie Française, with particular praise for the brilliance, richness and good taste of its decorated bindings. 

Following François-Simon-Alphonse Giroux’s retirement in 1838, control of the business passed to the next generation, with Alphonse-Gustave formally continuing the firm under the name Alphonse Giroux et Cie.

Further recognition followed at the Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie Française of 1839, where Giroux received another silver medal.

In the same year, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre and Isidore Niépce granted Alphonse Giroux et Cie exclusive rights to manufacture and retail the newly developed daguerreotype camera. Daguerre was Alphonse-Gustave Giroux’s brother-in-law, giving the agreement a close family connection as well as considerable commercial significance. Original examples bear the Giroux name and 7 Rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré address, while contemporary invoices document cameras being supplied internationally within months of their introduction.

At the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1855, Giroux presented examples of its luxury cabinetmaking, including an elaborately carved bonheur-du-jour which was purchased by Empress Eugénie for the Château de Compiègne.

In 1857, Giroux moved to new and exclusive premises at 43 Boulevard des Capucines, extending to 24 Rue Neuve des Capucines. A contemporary account from December 1855 described the firm’s “vast galleries”, reflecting the considerable scale and variety of its luxury merchandise. 

In 1867, the business was transferred to Ferdinand Duvinage and Harinckouk. The successors continued to trade under the Giroux name and exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of that year