For more than a century, the name Roullet-Decamps was synonymous with ingenious mechanical toys, beautifully crafted automata and spectacular animated displays.
Founded in Paris in 1865, the family business became one of France's most important makers of mechanical toys and automata, bringing together engineering, sculpture, craftsmanship and imagination.
What makes the story particularly fascinating for Les Parmeries is that this remarkable family tradition did not simply belong to the history of Paris. Its later chapters became closely connected with Les Parmeries itself.
Today, surviving examples of Roullet-Decamps' extraordinary work can be found in museum collections, including the Musée des Automates in Falaise.
The story began in 1865, when Jean Roullet established a workshop in Paris's Marais district. Originally a toolmaker, Roullet brought his mechanical skills to the manufacture of toys.
One of his earliest successes was Le Petit Jardinier, a mechanical figure pushing a wheelbarrow. The little gardener became the emblem of the company and marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey into the world of automata.
The company received its first bronze medal at the 1867 Paris World's Fair, an early recognition of the quality and ingenuity that would become its trademark.
In 1879, Jean Roullet's daughter married Ernest Decamps, a mechanical engineer working with the business. Their partnership helped the company expand both its production and its range of mechanical creations.
Following the company's success at the 1889 Paris Exposition, the name Roullet-Decamps became established.
By the 1890s, the workshops brought together an extraordinary variety of craftsmen, including mechanics, clockmakers, sculptors and seamstresses.
It was this combination of technical engineering and artistic craftsmanship that made Roullet-Decamps so distinctive.
Roullet-Decamps became particularly famous for its mechanical animals, animated dolls and highly sophisticated automata.
The company's creations included elephants, tigers and panthers, together with figures capable of remarkably lifelike movements. The firm also developed mechanisms for walking dolls, including the famous L'Intrépide Bébé.
Rather than simply making figures move repetitively, the craftsmen sought to reproduce convincing gestures, posture and character.
The result was something much closer to mechanical theatre and animated sculpture than a conventional toy.
One of Roullet-Decamps' greatest achievements was its willingness to embrace new technology.
Around 1900, the company began producing electric automata, including advertising displays designed for shop windows. Electricity allowed these creations to operate continuously and dramatically increased their possibilities.
A notable example was Hercule, created by Ernest and Gaston Decamps for the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The figure bends down to pick up a dumbbell, raises it and appears to strain as his muscles tense.
This ability to combine traditional craftsmanship with emerging technology became an important characteristic of the company.
Among the company's most celebrated creations was La Charmeuse de Serpent, created by Gaston Decamps between approximately 1902 and 1906.
With only a limited number of examples known, it became one of the firm's most famous and sought-after automata.
Gaston's artistic background helped push Roullet-Decamps beyond mechanical toys towards something approaching animated sculpture, combining sophisticated mechanisms with artistic expression.
Perhaps one of the company's most influential achievements was its work creating spectacular animated displays for Paris department stores.
Roullet-Decamps produced elaborate displays for major stores including Galeries Lafayette, Le Bon Marché and the Magasins du Louvre.
These displays transformed shop windows into miniature theatrical worlds, combining movement, sculpture, decoration and storytelling.
The animated Christmas window would become an important part of Parisian commercial culture, attracting crowds who came simply to watch the mechanical scenes come to life.
Roullet-Decamps also became an important pioneer in animated advertising.
Electric automata could be positioned in shop windows to attract attention to commercial products. Mechanical animation was no longer simply entertainment or a luxury toy — it had become an innovative form of visual communication.
The company helped establish the animated shop window as part of modern advertising and retail culture.
At its height, Roullet-Decamps brought together an extraordinary range of specialist skills.
A single automaton could involve:
Mechanical engineering → sculpture → moulding → painting → costume making → movement → electrical mechanisms
Around fifty people and some thirty different trades were reportedly involved in the company's work during its later period of prominence.
This explains why the finest Roullet-Decamps creations are so much more than mechanical toys. They represent the work of an entire community of highly skilled craftsmen.
The company's expertise in creating convincing moving figures also found its way into French cinema.
Gaston Decamps worked on mechanical effects and special effects for films, including creations involving animals and animated objects.
The techniques developed for automata could therefore be adapted to the emerging world of cinematic illusion.
The Roullet-Decamps story did not end with the early generations of the family.
Under the stewardship of the family line, the workshop continued to embrace new ideas, new technologies and new forms of artistic expression, while retaining the extraordinary craftsmanship that had established its reputation.
Georges Bellancourt, who married Cosette Decamps, a descendant of the founding Decamps family, played an important role in this later chapter.
Georges brought fresh creative energy to the atelier, combining traditional mechanical animation with modern technology. The workshop incorporated electronic animation and magnetic tape, allowing the art of the automaton to evolve alongside the rapidly changing technological world.
His work also extended into spectacular animated metal sculptures, demonstrating that the creative possibilities of the Roullet-Decamps tradition went far beyond traditional mechanical toys.
One remarkable example was the Oursin d'Or, created for the legendary artist Salvador Dalí in 1963.
This work illustrates the extraordinary ability of the workshop to combine engineering, movement, sculpture and contemporary art.
The later chapter of the Roullet-Decamps story has a particularly special connection with Les Parmeries.
Cosette Decamps and Georges Bellancourt continued production and preserved the heritage of the Roullet-Decamps workshop from their home at Les Parmeries.
From here, the family's remarkable tradition of mechanical and animated craftsmanship was carried forward through a period of considerable technological change.
The workshop's ability to embrace new techniques while retaining its traditional skills was central to its longevity. Mechanical mechanisms, sculpture, electronics and animation could all come together in increasingly imaginative ways.
After more than a century of creativity and innovation, the Roullet-Decamps story finally came to an end when the company ceased operations in 1995.
But the legacy remains.
From the workshops of nineteenth-century Paris to the innovative creations of Georges Bellancourt, Roullet-Decamps represents more than 130 years of French craftsmanship, invention and imagination.
And for Les Parmeries, the story is particularly meaningful.
This remarkable tradition of French automata was not simply something that happened elsewhere.
It became part of the history of Les Parmeries itself.
Today, guests staying at Les Parmeries can enjoy the peaceful Dordogne countryside while knowing that the property has its own fascinating connection with the history of French mechanical art.
The story of Roullet-Decamps brings together family, craftsmanship, engineering, art and innovation — from the earliest mechanical toys to electronic animation and spectacular artistic creations.
Roullet-Decamps didn't simply make machines move. Across generations, the family and its craftsmen found new ways to make machines appear to come alive.
Today, Les Parmeries is owned by Greg and Heather Ward, who have carefully renovated and transformed the property into a magnificent Dordogne retreat, while respecting its unique character and heritage.
Greg and Heather moved to the property in late 2022 and spent 2023 renovating and restoring Les Parmeries, with the aim of creating an oasis of calm and relaxation — a place where guests can escape the fast pace of modern life, reconnect, recharge and enjoy the beauty of the Dordogne.
Set within 14 acres of peaceful countryside, Les Parmeries now offers guests space to slow down and enjoy the simple pleasures of life — exploring the Dordogne Valley, relaxing beside the heated swimming pool, enjoying a long lunch, or simply sitting back and taking in the views.
The renovation represents a new chapter in the story of Les Parmeries, while the property's connection with the Roullet-Decamps family and its remarkable tradition of creativity and innovation remains an important part of its heritage.
The history of Les Parmeries is therefore one of change, creativity and renewal.
From its connection with the Roullet-Decamps dynasty and the innovative work of Georges Bellancourt and Cosette Decamps, through to its transformation by Greg and Heather Ward, the property has continued to evolve while retaining a connection with its past.
Today, Les Parmeries offers something very different from the busy world of modern life:
space to breathe, time to relax and the opportunity to experience the beauty of the Périgord Noir at your own pace.
A beautiful setting.
And now, a place to escape.**