Materials concerning French art, illustration, and drawing are a prominent part of the holdings at the Hagley Library. Items such as trade card albums and books display the works of French artists and illustrators. Hagley also has an extensive collection of posters by artists like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec that showcase French illustrations from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Exhibit and exhibition books provide context for artists, their works, and the arts in Paris and France.
Collections on interior and industrial design are essential to Hagley’s collections. The records of designers such as Raymond Loewy and William Pahlmann provide researchers with valuable information on design firms, clients, design processes, and designers’ education and influences. Many of these designers received some of their professional training in France, worked for French clients, or operated branch offices in French cities. Their papers help researchers understand French influences on American designers and how they appear in their work.
Design in France is another topic for exploration at the Hagley Library. Collections and items on French design illustrate trends and fashions for interiors, objects, and clothing during the twentieth century. Designers like Loewy and Pahlmann described their views of French people and material culture through their writings and illustrations. American firms, such as textiles producer Joseph Bancroft and Sons and the DuPont Company, helped develop materials taken on by French clothing designers and later used in the country’s clothing industries. These collections also highlight French interior design and design exhibitions with books that describe and explain popular interiors.
Other Collections and Items:
Designer Profile: Eileen Gray -- Boxed set of prints that highlight the work of Eileen Gray (1878-1976), a native Irish designer who lived and worked in Paris.
Exposition des Arts Décoratifs: 20 Photographies / Éditions A. Noyer -- Portfolio of photographic prints depicting buildings at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris.
Catalogue Général Officiel / Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, Paris, Avril-Octobre 1925 -- This book is a comprehensive guide to the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris.