Strauss, Allard et Meyer was a Paris workshop that became one of the principal suppliers of decorative cases to Cartier New York in the early twentieth century. The firm was founded in 1909 by Allard and Meyer; Strauss joined in 1919, the same year the workshop registered its maker's mark, "SAM" in a horizontal lozenge. The firm remained active until approximately 1941.
Foundation and Hallmark
The workshop's origins in 1909 place it at the beginning of the period when Cartier was expanding its American operations most aggressively, under the direction of Pierre Cartier. The timing of Strauss's entry in 1919, coinciding with the registration of the collective hallmark, suggests a reorganisation that gave the firm its definitive structure just as demand from New York was growing. The "SAM" mark, struck in a horizontal lozenge, is the identifier specialists use to attribute pieces from this workshop.
Lacquer and Enamel Specialisms
The firm's particular expertise lay in lacquer, enamel, and chinoiserie-style decoration applied to vanity cases and cigarette cases. These were objects in high demand among the wealthy clientele Cartier served on both sides of the Atlantic: small, personal, and expensive, they were vehicles for surface virtuosity and cultural reference alike.
Among the decorative techniques the workshop deployed, a poppy red enamel became a signature. Chinoiserie subject matter, dragons, pavilions, and garden scenes drawn from a European imagination of Chinese visual culture, appeared across a range of their case productions. In 1926 the firm patented a box-closing device, an indication that the workshop was not only a decorating atelier but was also developing technical solutions to practical problems of construction.
Examples of the workshop's production appear at auction. A "Dragon" vanity case sold at Sotheby's in 2021; a "Chinese Temple" vanity case sold at Christie's in 2019.
Supply to Cartier New York
The firm's relationship with Cartier New York began in 1912, predating the formal registration of the SAM hallmark. This supply relationship was part of the broader atelier network through which Pierre Cartier built his New York branch partly on the back of Parisian workshop production, importing objects that could be sold to an American clientele with the appetite, and the funds, for luxury French goods. The chinoiserie and lacquer specialisms of Strauss, Allard et Meyer suited this market well, reflecting the contemporary American enthusiasm for Asian-inflected decorative arts.
Sources
- Francesca Cartier Brickell, The Cartiers (Ballantine Books, 2019)
- Christie's, lot 6289452: Art Deco enamel and diamond 'Dragon' vanity case, Cartier, CHF 100,000
- Christie's, lot 4714514: Art Deco 'Chinese Landscape' vanity case, Cartier, CHF 72,000
- French patent, 1926, box-closing device (Strauss, Allard et Meyer)
