Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The museum of Allard originated in the cabinet of curiosities of Jean-Baptiste d'Allard (1769-1848), an amateur naturalist from Montbrison. From 1810 on, he collected nearly 16,000 specimens of natural history (minerals, plants, naturalized animals, ethnographic objects) in his home, transformed into a municipal museum at his death in 1848. Its garden, enlarged to house its collections, and its reputation — especially for its hummingbirds — mark the beginnings of the institution.

In the 20th century, the museum evolved into a specialisation in toys, especially dolls. In the 1950s, a temporary exhibition on ancient dolls was so successful that a permanent collection was created. Under the impetus of curator Daniel Pouget (1970s), the museum acquires world dolls and religious ethnographic objects, while modernizing its spaces. The renovation of the 1970s and 1980s also allows European taxidermies to be integrated.

In 2005, the museum focused its collections on the local company GéGé, emblematic manufacturer of toys (dolls Mily, Dolly, trains, dinettes). The permanent exhibition Toys, play, etc. (2007) presents these objects in a journey evoking the industrial history of Montbrison. At the same time, the Beaux-Arts section, composed of paintings (XVIth–XXth centuries), sculptures and engravings, and the gallery of natural history (herbers, mummies, specimens) retain their place, restoring a thematic balance.

The mansion of allard, on the edge of the eponymous garden, remains an architectural testimony of the nineteenth century. Ranked Museum of France, it combines scientific heritage (historic botanicals, zoology), industrial memory (GéGé) and art, reflecting the evolution of society museums since 1848.

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