Legros de Rumigny

Hairstyle 41 in the hairstyle book by Legros de Rumigny, 1768.

Legros de Rumigny (* 1710 ; † May 30, 1770 ) was in the time of King Louis XV. worked as a hairdresser in Paris . He made a name for himself by publishing a hairstyle book and running a hairdressing academy.

Life

Legros de Rumigny was born in 1710. Before he turned to the art of hairdressing, he was a cook for a Marquis de Bellemare. In his hairstyle book, Legros mentions the manuscript of a cookbook that has remained unfinished for lack of time. Since 1754 he occupied himself with the art of hairdressing and made it to mastery in this subject without outside guidance. To demonstrate his hairstyle creations, he exhibited 30 and 100 coiffed fashion dolls respectively at the Saint-Ovide fair in Paris in 1763 and 1765, which were applauded by women. Also in 1765 he published the first edition of his hairstyle book "L'art de la coiffure des dames françaises", which he expanded and improved several times until his death in 1770. In 1765 he founded his academy for hairdressing training "Académie des coiffures". The often rumored claim that Legros was the official court hairdresser at the court of Louis XV. and I did Madame de Pompadour and later Madame Dubarry's hair, is not documented by any source. Legros, who never missed an opportunity to advertise himself in his books, would certainly have proudly mentioned it in his books if he had held the post of court hairdresser.

In 1769 the hairdresser Léonard Autié came to Paris. In Autié's alleged memoir, his meeting with Legros, described as vain and cocky, is described. Afterwards, Autié explains to a friend, "Léonard will be the greatest hairdresser in the world". He invents tower hairstyles that caused a sensation in Marie-Antoinette's Rococo. When Legros sees Autiés hairstyles, he announces that this innovator will overtake him.

On May 16, 1770, the marriage of the French heir to the throne Louis XVI was in Versailles . celebrated with the Austrian Princess Marie Antoinette . On the night of May 30, 1770, during the public graduation ceremony in Paris, a fire broke out, killing hundreds of spectators, including Legros, who was found suffocated. He was buried together with the rest of the dead on May 31 or June 1, 1770 in the Madeleine cemetery.

plant

Hairstyle book

In 1757, the writer Jean Henri Marchand published a pastiche under the title "L'enciclopédie perruquière" (Wigs Encyclopedia). On the front page, the fictional author named Beaumont hairdresser, who allegedly had his shop in the Quinze-Vingts hospital district . 44 illustrations of male wig heads with mocking captions are attached to the book.

In 1765 Legros de Rumigny published the first edition of his hairstyle book "Livre d'estampes de l'art de la coeffure des dames françoises". Legros, who ran his hairdressing business in the Quinze Vingts district, was possibly inspired by the derisive wig encyclopedia for his serious hairstyle book. In 1766 and 1768 expanded and improved editions of the book were published. The edition of 1768 was entitled “L'art de la coëffure des dames françoises, avec des estampes où sont représentées les têtes coeffées” From 1768 Legros also published 4 supplements.

The hairstyle book consists of a text part and a blackboard part. The following topics are covered in the text:

• Chronology of the editions of the hairstyle book
• Production of the copperplate engravings
• Hairdressing academy
• Care of natural hair
• Manufacture of hair pomades
• Instructions for styling your hair with and without using false hairpieces
• Customization and shipping of wigs

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The blackboard section of the hairstyle book contains colored copper engravings with hairstyle models based on original drawings by Legros. In 1765 the number of consecutively numbered models was 28 and in 1768 it was 38. The 4 supplements that appeared from 1768 added the number of models to 100 by 1770. Legros added a colored copper engraving to the 1st supplement as an addition with the Title "Une Dame Française à la Chasse, Habillée en Amazone"

Legros sent the first copies of the hairstyle book to the ladies of the European ruling houses, including the daughters of the French king, the Austrian and Russian empresses and the English and Prussian queens. Legros was obviously hoping for wigs from abroad, just as he would have liked to set up branches of his hairdressing academy in other European capitals.

"Dame Française à la Chasse" after a drawing by Legros.

It is not known how successful Legros' books were. Although they were discussed in the magazines, the authors did not express themselves critically about the content of the books. Friedrich Melchior Grimm wrote in the French literary magazine "Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique" about the hairstyle book and the "great Legros" with a slightly ironic undertone:

"... that our famous Legros and his book met with a devastating response among the Parisian women, and that they mercilessly declared all of his twenty-eight hairstyles to be abhorrent."

"So Mr. Legros, whether with the pot or the comb in hand, was always brilliant and tall, but also always a target of envy."

In fact, the former cook Legros saw himself compelled to defend himself in his book against envious colleagues ("a lot of jealous ignoramuses") who wanted to deny him any ability to hairdressing and wig making.

Hairdressing academy

In 1765 Legros converted his barber shop into a hairdressing school, which he called the "Académie des Coëffures du Sieur le Gros" or "Académie des Coiffures des Dames Françoises à Paris". His shop was located on the premises of the Quinze-Vingts Hospital near the Louvre until at least 1767 . In 1769 at the latest, he moved to a shop at the Palais Royal , across from the Quinze-Vingts Hospital.

Examination seal of the hairdressing academy.

Legros believed that some people might find the title of his hairstyle book, "Ladies' Hairdressing Art" and the designation of his hairdressing school as an academy, to be inappropriate. He considered the title of his book to be justified, however, because hairdressing for women had become an art for him, and the term academy was also appropriate, since he taught the basics of hairdressing in his school. Friedrich Melchior Grimm expressed himself in the French literary magazine "Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique" about the choice of the name "Academy" in a slightly ironic way:

“He tells us that he has set up an academy at Quinze-Vingts, which he has divided into as many classes as the Académie des sciences . In his modesty he apologizes for using the terms academy and classes for his institute and proves irrefutably that the terms are correct and that in certain cases, humility forces us to give way to the power of truth. "

Shipping seal of the hairdressing academy.

The academy consisted of 3 classes:

• 1st class for the training of hairdressers and hairdressers for a fee of 6 Louisdor.
• 2nd class for the training of valet hairdressers for a fee of 4 Louisdor.
• 3rd class for the training of chambermaids for a fee of 2 Louisdor.

The 1st and 2nd grade students learned the manual skills of a hairdresser using 38 and 28 large-format drawings of hairstyle models, respectively. The 3rd grade students learned the necessary skills to hairdress their ladies, but not how to cut their hair. Upon successful completion of the training, the students received a certificate with an examination seal.

Ladies from the provinces or ladies from foreign courts could order wigs based on the hairstyle models in Legros' books, stating the hair color and head size. The shipping containers with the wigs were marked with a special shipping seal.

All information about the hairdressing academy and the mail order business are based on Legros' description in his books. Independent testimonials from third parties are not known.

Quotes

• That's why I published the book about the art of hairdressing for women so that ... they don't believe the ignorant people who envy them and try to convince them that I can't do my hair at all, because I was a cook and nobody taught me to do hair.

• After all, in a short time I was able to prove to many hairdressers the falseness of their foul gossip, considering the fact that it was I who invented the basics of hairdressing; I bear testimony to this every day, as there is no hairdresser who can imitate my style or use model drawings to do the hair, unless he has studied with me.

• I believe that I can rightly call myself the first hairdresser for women.

Publications

Title page of the hairstyle book from 1768.

• Hairstyle book 1765: Livre d'estampes de l'art de la coeffure des dames françoises, Gravé sur les desseins originaux d'après mes accommodages, avec le Traité en abrégé d'entretenir & conserver les Cheveux naturels. Par le sieur LE GROS, Coeffeur des Dames. Paris: Aux Quinze-vingts, 1765, pdf . - Hairstyle heads: 1-28.
• Hairstyle book 1766: [title unknown]. - Hairstyle heads: 1-33.
• Hairstyle book 1768: L'art de la coëffure des dames françoises, avec des estampes où sont représentées les têtes coeffées, Gravées sur les dessins originaux d'après mes accommodages, avec le Traité en abrégé d'entretenir & conserver les Cheveux naturels. Par le sieur LE GROS, Coeffeur des Dames, Enclos des Quinze-vingts. Paris: Antoine Boudet, 1768, pdf . - Permission to print: April 15, 1768. Hairstyle heads: 1-38.
• 1. Supplement: Supplément de l'art de la coëffure des dames françoises. Par le sieur LEGROS, Coëffeur des Dames, Enclos des Quinze-vingts Paris: Antoine Boudet, 1768, pdf . - Permission to print: April 15, 1768. Hairstyle heads: 39-44.
• 2. Supplement: Deuxième supplément de l'art de la coëffure des dames françoises. - Permission to print: October 24, 1768. Hairstyle heads: 45-62.
• 3. Supplement: Troisième supplément de l'art de la coëffure des dames françoises. - Permission to print: May 22, 1769. Hairstyle heads: 63-78.
• 4. Supplement: Quatrième supplément de l'art de la coëffure des dames françoises. - Permission to print: January 26, 1770. Hairstyle heads: 79-100.

literature

Life

• Eustache Marie Pierre Marc Antoine Courtin: Legros (N.). In: Encyclopédie moderne, ou Dictionnaire des hommes et des choses, des sciences, des lettres et des arts, deuxième édition, tome quatorzième: Just – Lubi. The Hague: Lejeune, 1830, page 218, pdf .
• Joseph Fr. Michaud: Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne , Volume 23, Paris, 1819, Pages 588-589, pdf .

Others

• Léonard Autié: Souvenirs de Léonard, coiffeur de la reine Marie-Antoinette, Volume 1, Paris: Levavasseur, 1838, pdf .
• Académie de Coëffure. In: L'Avantcoureur, Feuille Hebdomadaire, 1767, number 7, February 16, 1767, page 103, pdf .
• Friedrich Melchior Grimm ; Denis Diderot : Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique de Grimm et de Diderot, depuis 1770 jusqu'en 1782, seconde édition, tome premier. Paris 1812, page 127, 210-211, pdf .
• Friedrich Melchior Grimm ; Denis Diderot : Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique de Grimm et de Diderot, depuis 1765 jusqu'en 1768, première partie, tome cinquième. Paris 1813, pp. 142-145, pdf .
• Jean Henri Marchand: L'enciclopédie perruquière: ouvrage curieux à l'usage de toutes sortes de têtes; Figures in taille-douce: by M. Beaumont Coeffeur dans les Quinze-Enrichts. Paris: Hochereau, 1762, earlier edition: Paris, 1757,
• [Advertisement from:] Troisième supplément de l'art de la coëffure des dames françoises. In: Mercure de France, August 1769, pages 180-181, pdf .
• Friedrich Nicolai : About the use of false hair and wigs in old and modern times. A historical investigation. Berlin, 1801, note 189, pages 166–168, pdf .
• Victoria Sherrow: Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood (2006), 163.

Web links

Commons : Legros de Rumigny  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

1. ↑ #Courtin 1830 .
2. ↑ #Legros 1765 , page 3, 8-9.
3. ↑ # Autié 1838 , pp. 10-14, 19, 48-49.
4. ↑ #Grimm 1812 , page 211.
5. ↑ # Michaud 1819 . - For the Madeleine cemetery, see: fr: Cimetière de la Madeleine .
6. ↑ #Marchand 1762 .
7. ↑ # Legros 1765 . - German: Illustrated book of the hairdressing art of French women.
8. ↑ # Legros 1768.1 . - German: Hairdressing art of French women, with copper plates on which the hairstyle heads are depicted.
9. ↑ # Legros 1768.2 . English: French lady hunting, dressed as an amazon.
10. ↑ #Legros 1768.1 , page 74.
11. ↑ #Grimm 1813 , pp. 144, 145.
12. ↑ #Legros 1765 , page 7.
13. ↑ #Legros 1765 , pages 8–9. - German: Hairdressing Academy of Mr. Legros.
14. ↑ #Legros 1768.1 , page 75. - German: Hairdressing academy for French women in Paris.
15. ↑ #Avantcoureur 1767 .
16. ↑ #Mercure 1769 .
17. ↑ #Legros , page 9.
18. ↑ #Grimm 1813 , page 145.
19. ↑ #Legros 1765 , pp. 74–75.
20. ↑ #Legros 1765 , page 7.
21. ↑ #Legros 1765 , page 8.
22. ↑ #Legros 1765 , page 10.
23. ↑ #Legros 1768.1 , page 3, #Grimm 1813 . - Different title in #Nicolai 1801 , page 167: Art de la coëffure des Dames, avec le traité en abrégé sur la façon d'entretenir et de conserver les cheveux naturels et les plans de largeurs des cheveux de face, qu'il faut observer pour faire toutes sortes de coëffures, et la façon de se coëffer avec les cheveux faux, par le Sr. Le Gros.
24. ↑ #Legros 1768.1 , page 3.
25. ↑ Information on the 2nd-4th Supplement: Thomas J. Watson Library .
26. ↑ #Mercure 1769 .