Henri Nelson

Cabinetmaker (active from 1856 to 1920)

Henri Nelson was a Parisian cabinetmaker of the second half of the 19th century, specialising in luxury Louis XV and Louis XVI style furniture. In 1856, he took over the workshop of his father, the cabinetmaker Jean-Henri Nelson, located at 46, rue de la Madeleine. The firm subsequently moved to boulevard Haussmann, then rue Tronson-du-Coudray, before establishing itself in 1870 at 27, rue Pasquier, just steps from the Madeleine. His marquetry furniture, embellished with finely chased bronzes, earned him a gold medal at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, where he exhibited as a decorator. He went on to participate in the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition in London, for which he recreated a Louis XVI style salon, and later in the 1911 Turin International Exhibition. His works, typically stamped “H. Nelson”, are featured in the definitive reference books on 19th-century Parisian furniture, notably Christopher Payne's Paris Furniture.