This short story centres on a young man from the small village of Bessancourt in France. He would establish his own workshop in Paris, specialising in the art of making exquisite handmade flutes, ultimately becoming one of the most renowned flute-makers in French history. The business would endure across three generations of his family – the Bonnevilles.

Auguste Adrien BONNEVILLE was born on 14 December 1819 in Bessancourt. It is a small village, close to Paris, in the Val-d’Oise in the Île-de-France region. Back then, it was a village of winegrowers, who prospered through the sale of wine. August’s father Jean Pierre was a winegrower married to Marie Anne Rosseau. The town’s fate was sealed by the development of the railways. Parisians gained the ability to savour southern wines that were more appealing, rather than relying solely on the local selections.

Perhaps that is why Auguste Bonneville made his way to Paris, where it is understood that he started out as a silver-smith, working for and supplying the workshops of Claire GODFROY Aine (1774-1841) and Louis LOT (1807-96). He married Sophie Joséphine POIRON (1814-1877) in Paris on October 12, 1844.  They would have three sons. The first was Henri Léon (1847-1888), then came Alphonse Edmond 1854-1925, followed by Eugène Lucien (1866-?).

Auguste Bonneville was politically active. He was one of the 26,848 individuals prosecuted during the December 1851 uprising and the various forms of protest against Louis Napoleon Bonaparte’s coup d’état. He was also one of the members of the Workers’ Commission of 1867.

He officially founded his own business in 1858 at 9 Rue Corbeau, Paris. He began to manufacture his own flutes around 1876 as a family business. The flutes were predominantly silver-plated maillechort – a type of nickel-silver.

The company changed names and became BONNEVILLE et Fils around 1885, which was probably due to Auguste Adrien’s retirement. In 1889, the company won a silver medal for its flutes at the 1889 Universal Exhibition of Paris. Alphonse Edmond took over the reins of the business from his father, who already a widower, died on 4 December 1895 at the age of 76.  

Alphonse Edmond moved the family business to 44 rue Saint Sébastien and then again to 140 boulevard Richard Lenoir.  He won a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1900. He had married Désirée Joanin (1857-1905). His own son, Auguste Lucien (1880-1944) decided to set up his own workshop in 1908 away from his father’s, calling it Bonneville Fils. This venture ended in 1913, when he was declared bankrupt. He probably went back to work for his father, who had married again a certain Marie Marguerite Babel in 1920. Alphonse Edmond died in 1925 and his business was run for some time by his second wife. On her death, August Lucien was at the helm, and in 1935 he sold the family business to the instrument maker Raymond Maurice DUBOIS (1887-1957).

It is thought that some 1,000 instruments were made by or under the direction of Auguste Adrien Bonneville, dating from around 1876-1885. Recent research by René Pierre (Blog, 2019), has provided indications of the date of manufacture of flutes up to serial number 5611 in 1933.

The solid silver flutes bear no hallmarks up until 1899 when the “A Lyre B, star” Bonneville hallmark was first registered.

Renowned across the globe, Bonneville flutes are celebrated for their outstanding workmanship and their charming, unique tonal qualities. They possess a distinctive and secretive characteristic, likely known only to the Bonneville family, which makes them sought-after treasures.