Paul Dupré - Lafon

Valet, 1930s

Valet, 1930s
Limed oak, Hermès leather, brass.
138 x 44 x 56 cm
Manufactured by Hermès, Paris, France.
Reverse of jacket hanger impressed HERMÈS-PARIS, and frame stamped P DUPRE-LAFON.

Provenance
Hermes, Paris
Jean Chevalier, Paris
Thence by descent to the present owner

Literature
Thierry Couvrat Desvergnes, Paul Dupré-Lafon: décorateur des millionaires, Paris, 1990, pp. 204-205
Bruno Foucart and Jean-Louis Gaillemin, Les Décorateurs des années 40, Paris, 1998, p. 121

The present lot belonged to Jean Chevalier, the father of the current owner. Jean Chevalier was the first director of photography at Elle magazine in Paris in 1945. " Elle magazine was central to the development of fashion, photography and modern feminine identities in post-war France. Between 1946 and 1961 he directed Elle's photography studio working with all the leading fashion houses of that time. His contributions to image-making, in terms of both technology and representation, should be seen as a feature of the country's wider modernisation project".

For the above text we are grateful to: Dr. Alexis Romano author of Prêt-à-Porter, Paris and Women: A Cultural Study of French Readymade Fashion, 1945-68 (Bloomsbury, April 2022)