241 - [PEUGEOT]. Album of 49 photographic portraits spanning four generations (19th century).

[PEUGEOT]. Album of 49 photographic portraits spanning four generations (19th century). A fascinating family album of the Peugeot-Japy dynasty, featuring 49 photographic portraits spanning four generations from the Restoration to the Belle Époque. 49 albumen prints in visiting-card format, mounted on cardboard and slipped into white paper windows embossed with the caption “W M patented SGDG " (patent for the sliding-window system typical of the second half of the 19th century). The photographs are presented in pairs on the front of each leaf. Housed in an in-8 album with a brown chagrin leather cover, smooth spine adorned with four cold-stamped faux raised bands extending onto the covers; on the top cover, a steel monogram with the initials “J.P.” and two clasp fasteners; gilt edges. Some scuffing and marks on the binding; the fasteners on the lower cover are missing. Some foxing on the leaves, but the portraits are unaffected. The album opens solemnly with the faces of the dynasty’s patriarchs: Charles-Christophe Peugeot (1775–1819) and his wife Clémence Catherine Japy (1775–1864). Charles-Christophe was the co-founder of the Peugeot family’s textile branch, launched in the early 19th century alongside the metallurgy branch established by his older brothers. They embody the company’s roots and sealed the first historic union between the two great families of the Pays de Montbéliard during the First Empire. This founding union, bringing together metallurgy and textiles, laid the first foundation stone for family-run capitalism in the region. The heart of the album brings together the second-generation siblings during the Second Empire. Based at the Sous-Roches factory in Audincourt, they developed the company Constant Peugeot & Cie (founded in 1830), which specialized in small-scale, high-precision metalwork for the textile industry: - Constant Peugeot (1809–1877) and Caroline Japy (1818–1890): The son of Charles-Christophe, Constant was the linchpin of the Sous-Roches factory. - Charles Peugeot (1803–1880) and Adèle Peugeot (1811–1894): Constant’s older brother, he co-managed the firm in its early years and laid the groundwork for the branch’s financial growth in Audincourt. - Louis Peugeot (1815–1891) and Émilie Peugeot (1818–1894): Constant’s younger brother, he took charge of the technical management of the workshops and oversaw the company’s expansion into precision machinery. - The Bouthenot family (Marie Peugeot, 1806–1885, and her husband Auguste Bouthenot, 1801–1875): Auguste Bouthenot, a prominent textile industrialist and mayor of Audincourt, lent his name to the sumptuous Château Bouthenot, originally built for the widow Catherine Peugeot. - The Cuvier family (Charles Cuvier, 1801–1876, and his wife, née Peugeot): A distinguished pastor, intellectual, and university professor, he exemplified the clan’s deep roots within the theological elite and Protestant pastoral networks. The third generation marked the commercial golden age of the Sous-Roches firm, which conquered Europe with the historic launch of Peugeot sewing machines as early as 1867 (awarded a gold medal at the 1878 Paris World’s Fair), before merging its interests to become Peugeot, Japy & Cie: - Benjamin Peugeot (1833–1905): Son of Constant, he took over management of Constant Peugeot & Cie in 1863. It was he who successfully introduced the manufacture of sewing machines. His marriage to Cécile Dollfus (1841–1925) brought the famous DMC textile dynasty of Mulhouse into the family. - Edmond Peugeot (1839–1901) and Marie Dumas (1842–1913): Edmond assisted his brother in managing the mechanical division at Sous-Roches. - The extended family: Portraits of Jeanne Japy (née Peugeot), Laure Peugeot, and cousin Victor Peugeot round out this close-knit clan. The final pages depict the fourth generation during the Belle Époque, cementing the alliance between local industries: Camille Peugeot married ironmaster Louis Sircoulomb, bringing the family into the distinguished metallurgical lineage of Audincourt. The album concludes with the final portraits of their daughters and granddaughters: Cécile, Hélène Sircoulomb, and Blanche Pairo. A precious family album.