Canapé, fauteuil en stoel 1895

This print by Léon Laroche depicts furniture designs, a canapé, armchair, and chair, all in the Louis XVI style. The print reveals the workings of the 19th-century design industry in France. The phrase "L'Ameublement Collection Simple" suggests the print was part of a larger series of design ideas, intended to be accessible and easily reproduced, and that it was published to be widely distributed. In fact, it was published by Vve Magimel, a printing and publishing company with an office in Paris. The print's existence speaks to a growing market for accessible design ideas. The Louis XVI style, popular among the French aristocracy before the Revolution, was here being democratized and commercialized. Such a design could be a starting point for further research, using trade publications and manufacturer's catalogs to get a sense of popular taste in furniture in Paris at the time.