On the initiative of the Association " Les Amis de Gueules de Miel ", the Cercle Privé de la Poupée had the privilege to visit a very ancient and very renowned house : the Factory of Eyes " Harney ", today Harnat.

 

Created there is 15O years and always stayed in the family of his initiators, we discovered in In Parisian outer suburbs a company a lot of his time with his charm indiscible, old-fashioned and peaceful, the shadow of the big trees around it, its cats happy to live free and in the sun.

This last one got up indeed in the beginning of afternoon and allowed us so to photograph outsides which you can see and to get acquainted in the park of the family always owner of places, Sir and Madam Célarier and their son.

Discovering Sunday this brilliant yard to the old-fashioned and quiet charm, we were not at the end of our surprises.

Mister Goupil, a part of the welcoming committee

Small entrance of a very vast exhibition

Having penetrated into premises, a real Museum, unexpected, impeccably ordered and maintained welcomed us! Indeed, the house Harney having privileged a time the manufacture of human eyes by being above all " ocularist" worked also for some taxidermists, - these become more and more rare for the reasons which we know- , but especially for very numerous museums.

Two other sights of this wonderfull Museum

And Museums are still there, regular customers. also, the manufacturers of bears, more and more numerous who find here ancient, real crystal eyes, in absolutely magnificent complexions, completely realized in the hand or more exactly in the dexterity of the wrist.

Mister and Madam Célarier are always used both to their manufacture, completely craft so. Their stock is inconceivable, unexpected. Of what really to be seized and to be fascinated.

The manufacture of eyes for dolls, more recent, dates only of about ten years but fills out at present also of an artists' new demand in dolls or collectors of antique.

Opposite Madam CELARIER

Beautiful collection of birds welcoming the guests

Some eyes of animals among many of others

This house presents indeed the inestimable favor to have remained purely craft and honor so large orders while welcoming with a lot of kindness the individual bear or doll struck one or other one by blindness and brought by a break collector. But it is true that if the stock for bears, dogs, different animals is impressive (oh! These eyes of snakes!!!!) That of dolls limits itself for the moment to two or three drawers of fixed eyes of much less beautiful quality. It was not their speciality.

Mrs CELARIER and four of her attentive guests

Two of ovens allowing the enamelling of eyes (There is four in activity)

Many hundred eyes carefully listed and arranged

Still and always eyes on boards of presentation

However our visit and the statement of our passions for the beautiful eyes which make the unmistakable charm of our dolls or bears motivated them to develop more this branch of their production which we wish all the deserved success and the perpetuity in the time.

We shall keep of this visit an impression of the outmoded charm of France in the XIX-th and delight in front of the set apart an art complete today in voice of disappearance...... manufacturing and plastic having beautiful days in front of them....... is not it Mister the Hardware dealer?

Hélène BUGAT-PUJOL

N.B: Exception of the Musée Grévin, one of its ancient very important customers spent today under the control of the United States with the consequence which one guesses)

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HARNAT
:
Head Office
 9 bis Passage Dartois Bidot, 94106 Saint Maur les Fossés Cedex

Workshops:
34, Avenue de Tunis
94100 Saint Maur les Fossés.

Tel: 33(0)1
48. 83. 53. 30

Fax 33(0)1 . 48. 89. 41. 03

 

And to finish, Mrs CELARIER's Nounours !