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FRENCH CABINETMAKERS IN THE VIEUX CARRE
Charles D, Peavy
The rather recondite history of the New Orleans abinetmakers is known only to antiquarians and his-o??'ans specializing in the more esoteric aspects ? .ouisiana lore. Consequently, these craftsmen ave never received the recognition enjoyed by their orthern contemporaries, Duncan Phyfe and others, here were, however, superb craftsmen working in New rleans in the first half of the nineteenth century iio produced finely carved and inlaid furniture for ie Creole homes in the city and for the plantation Duses up river.
The New Orleans City Directory of 1834 lists inety-seven cabinetmakers, four of whom (Mallard, 'ignouret, Seibricht, and Barjon) are well known ) antique dealers and collectors in the South. The ireers of Seignouret and Mallard are discussed in lis study,1 and an alphabetical listing of all the ibinetmakers flourishing in the city in that year s appended at the end .
he ante-bellum home, built for comfort, often id rooms that were twenty-five feet long and ceil-;gs that were from fourteen to eighteen feet high, th Seignouret and Mallard scaled their creations j the mammoth proportions of these homes. Thus, 'ignouret armo ires average from eight and one half ) ten feet in height, while the massive Mallard beds >re eigKf'to nine feet in length and seven to eight ?et wide. Though all furniture produced during the ?riod was not in such grand scale (some of it was 'rely an adaptation or in some cases an exact rep-ca of smaller European designs), size was to be-une the principal distinguishing characteristic of ?uthern furniture (Fig. 1).
There remain two other distinguishing charac-ristics--design and wood. The design of the ear-er furniture followed c 1 os e 1 y t he s t y le of~Fr a nc e ,
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FRENCH CABINETMAKERS
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particularly the Louis XV and the'Empire designs. A glance at the list of cabinetmakers in 1834 reveals that mo^st of them were French. Though some of them
*	were obviously Creole, the two most famous, Mallard and Seignouret, were natives of France, and all reflected the continental tastes then popular in New Orleans.
Figure 1:	Armoire	by	Mallard