Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Alexandre Dumas Museum was founded in 1905 in Villers-Cotterêts, on the initiative of the City Council, to preserve memories related to the Dumas family and local history. The initial collection, composed of documents and autographs, was entrusted to the Société Historique Régionale created in 1904. After successive moves and evacuation during the First World War, the museum settled in 1932 at the Hôtel du Dauphin, enriched by donations such as those of Jeannine d'Hauterive, granddaughter of Alexander Dumas.

Since 1952, the museum has occupied a 19th century mansion, exhibiting portraits painted and carved by renowned artists (Louis Boulanger, Eugène Giraud, Carrier-Belleuse...). It preserves manuscripts, military archives, and objects related to General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, Alexandre Dumas father (author of the Count of Monte Cristo), and Dumas son (La Dame aux Camelias). A workshop of the local painter Marie-Josephine Nicolas and archives of the writer Charles-Albert Demoustier complete the collections.

Labelled Museum of France, the institution showcases a unique literary and artistic heritage, linked to a family that has marked French cultural history. Its current address, 24 rue Demoustier, perpetuates the memory of the Dumas in their hometown, while offering a panorama of the fine arts, history and literature of the 19th century.

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