History

History
Installed in Gérardmer in the Vosges region of France in 1871 by its founder Nathan Lévy, the cloth mill, after its destruction at the end of World War II, was rebuilt and started again after a short while. Thereafter, the Nathan Levy Company was taken over by the Elis Group in 1968. It then changed its name and became Le Jacquard Français.

The first collection was launched in 1978 in collaboration with the designer Primrose Bordier.

Today, Le Jacquard Français has become the unchallenged reference for damask linen.

Production Site

Why Gérardmer?
Flax was grown in the Vosges region from the earliest times. Women spun the flax and men wove the linen. After the cloths had been woven, they were washed in the water of the Gérardmer lake and bleached in the fields. Every household produced enough for its own sheets and shirts.

With the invention of the spinning machine in 1850, the number of cloth mills at Gérardmer increased.

The American Civil War (1860-1865) meant that cotton no longer reached Europe, and this contributed to the growth of linen production at Gérardmer.

Today, Gérardmer is still an important production site for textiles. If the factory of Le Jacquard Français has been modernized since 1871, the place of production has never changed.

 

The activities of Le Jacquard Français

The collection
This includes all the items sold with the Le Jacquard Français brand name. The collection comprises table linen, pantry linen, beauty linen and the baby collection. All these items are woven on Jacquard looms. Two collections are produced each year.

Combining yesterday's traditions with today's imagination, Le Jacquard Français meets the needs of a refined clientele and an international market looking for French products of high quality.

Rental
Le Jacquard Français weaves the tablecloths rented by Elis, the leader in textile rental and maintenance. Special cloth lengths are also produced for some prestigious hotels and restaurants who want specific table linen.

Special productions
As a weaving company, Le Jacquard Français creates and weaves special items ordered by customers who want products bearing their name.

History of tablecloth and napkins
Although tablecloths were used in ancient times, we do not have much information about their use.

The Gauls and Romans used linen tablecloths, often colored. Guests brought their own napkins which they placed near their couches and which were used to carry the leftovers of their meals.

The importance of meals in the Judeo-Christian tradition contributed significantly to the development of the tablecloth.

It was in the Middle Ages that tablecloths became customary. They became an object of genuine veneration, because they were a mark of a lord's nobility and were only shared with people of the same rank. Most tablecloths were decorated with embroidery and fringes. At the same time simpler tablecloths appeared, for example in some taverns. People wiped their hands on a long piece of cloth laid on the edge of the tablecloth.

The 15th century saw the arrival of the "touaille", the ancestor of our napkin. This was a strip of material more than 13 feet long, folded in two over a stick and attached to the wall like a dish towel. However, it was not used much.

The napkin as we know it today dates from the 16th century, but it was very large. It was made of damask linen and soon became commonly used.

At that time it was fashionable to fold tablecloths and particularly napkins in the shape of birds, animals and all kinds of fruits. This tradition lasted for more than 200 years.

Until the 19th century, tablecloths and napkins were usually made of damask, a material with identical woven motifs on the front and back, and which was named after the city of Damascus in Syria. Silk damask was famous, exported from Persia and then from Venice for a long time. Then the countries of Northern Europe, lacking raw materials, invented linen damask which was very popular until the early 19th century.

The arrival of cotton revolutionized damask. Since the material was softer, its production gradually became industrialized. The tradition of folding napkins gradually disappeared and the size of napkins became smaller.

In the 20th century color came to the table. Tablecloths were made in pastel colors first, and then bright or darker colors. The napkin either blended with the color scheme or contrasted with the tablecloth.

After a so-called "minimalist" period during which white and ecru were very fashionable, tables are again being decorated with colored cloths and refined accessories.

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