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Birth : 1799 in Mirecourt (Vosges) Death : 1870 in Perpignan (Pyrénées Orientales)

Summary

Jean-Joseph VALLOTE, professionally known as VALLOTE, was born on 30 November 1799 in Mirecourt (Vosges). A luthier and musical instrument dealer, he died on 18 May 1870 in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales).

Biography

Jean-Joseph VALLOTE was born on 30 November 1799 in MIRECOURT. His birth record is established under the name VALOTTE (1). He was the son of Jean-Baptiste VALOT, a luthier and instrument dealer, and Élisabeth Catherine BOULANGER, a lace maker (1).
However, his father, born Jean-Baptiste VALOT, systematically signed civil status records “J. Bte Vallote”, thus confirming the constant use of this spelling within the family (2).

He grew up in an environment connected with instrument making. His father, successively established in MIRECOURT and then in Moulins, acquired in 1821 in Perpignan a property comprising an instrument maker’s workshop, a shop and a manufacturing business located on Place Laborie (3).

From 1824 onwards, Jean-Joseph VALLOTE settled in Perpignan in partnership with his father under the professional name VALLOTE. An advertisement published in the Journal de Perpignan et des Pyrénées-Orientales on 14 August 1824 confirms the opening of their shop on Place Laborie by the “VALLOTE father and son”.

The establishment operated as a luthier’s business, including the sale of a wide range of French, Italian and German musical instruments, the manufacture of instruments such as violins, guitars and serinettes, as well as their repair and maintenance. The firm also provided piano tuning and rental services, supplied musical accessories, and carried out various works on organs and mechanical instruments (4).

A violin dated 1824 bearing the signature “J. J. VALLOTE” confirms that Jean-Joseph was already making instruments under his own name at that time (5). (look #1031)

A further advertisement published on 11 November 1826 confirms the continuation of this activity on Place Laborie. The VALLOTE firm offered the sale, rental, repair and maintenance of string instruments, piano tuning, the modification of tunes for organs and serinettes, as well as the supply of strings and musical accessories.
The advertisement also responds to criticisms directed at their establishment, reflecting the competition between music businesses in Perpignan (6).

After his father’s death in 1843, Jean-Joseph VALLOTE continued his activity as a luthier and musical instrument dealer in Perpignan. During the 1840s and 1850s, the VALLOTE firm was among the city’s leading lutherie workshops and musical instrument businesses, alongside notably the TORON and BRISILLAC firms (7).

Recent research devoted to the history of the ténora identifies Jean-Joseph VALLOTE among the Perpignan instrument makers who produced ténora-type instruments around 1850. These studies place him, together with Pierre BRISILLAC and Valentin TOURON, among the craftsmen who contributed to the development of this instrument in the Pyrénées-Orientales region (8).

On 8 February 1862, he married Marguerite Juste Thérèse, known as Justine, NOGUÈS, in Perpignan. From this marriage was born François Joseph VALOTTE in 1863, who died in 1864 (9).

According to several secondary sources devoted to the history of Perpignan lutherie, the VALLOTE firm was placed into liquidation in 1864 and its stock was taken over by Pierre BRISILLAC (10).

Jean-Joseph VALLOTE died in Perpignan on 18 May 1870, at the age of seventy (11).

Activity
Luthier and instrument maker
Manufacture of instruments, notably violins, guitars and serinettes
Repair and maintenance of musical instruments
Musical instrument and musical supplies dealer
Piano tuning and rental
Manufacture of ténoras around 1850

Documentation
The documentary research, the collection of archival sources and the review of historical publications were carried out by J. J. Bona (luthiervents.blogspot.com).
Sources
1 - Birth record of Jean-Joseph VALOTTE, MIRECOURT, 30 November 1799
2 - AD 88, marriage record no. 33, MIRECOURT, 20 floréal Year VII (9 May 1799)
3 - Répertoire des formalités hypothécaires de Perpignan, volume 51, 16 October 1821
4 - Journal de Perpignan et des Pyrénées-Orientales, 14 August 1824
5 - Violin signed “J. J. VALLOTE”, dated 1824 (private collection)
6 - Journal de Perpignan et des Pyrénées-Orientales, 11 November 1826
7 - AD 66, death record no. 249 of Jean-Baptiste VALLOTE, 8 May 1843
8 - Fontelles-Ramonet, Albert & Bonet, Núria, Xeremies of the Banda Municipal de Barcelona: From the Symphonic Turn of the Cobla to the Invention of the Barítona, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, Cambridge University Press, 2025
9 - Marriage record of Jean-Joseph VALOTTE and Marguerite Juste Thérèse NOGUÈS, Perpignan, 8 February 1862; birth and death records of François Joseph VALOTTE (1863-1864)
10 - History of the BRISILLAC / DELMAS MUSIQUE firm
11 - AD 66, death record of Jean-Joseph VALLOTE, 18 May 1870

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