Reference Library Makers

B. 1844, d. 1907, Mirecourt

In a trade that rewards roots and stability, Paul Bailly led a varied and mendicant life. From a Mirecourt family, Bailly apprenticed to Jules Gaillard and Nicolas Vuillaume before moving to the workshops of J.B. Vuillaume in Paris. After four years Bailly moved to Lille and subsequently in helped the French war effort in Doua (1869). He returned to Mirecourt in 182 and won awards at the Paris Exposition of 1878. He still struggled to settle however and moved from Brussels to London where he worked for Harry Dykes. He returned to Paris in the mid 1890's where eventually settled. Bailly was responsible for a large output of over 3,000 instruments, normally based on Stradivarian or Guarneri models. They are usually signed and numbered internally. Bailly's daughter Jenny was also a fine maker in her own right and succeeded to his business for the last ten years after his death.