(b New York, 1808; d New York, 1895).
American cabinetmaker. He opened his first cabinetmaking shop in Pearl Street, New York, about 1830. Ten years later he moved to a four-storey ‘furniture warehouse’ on Broadway, near his competitor John Henry Belter, whose work, in particular the laminated rosewood chairs, Baudouine is claimed, perhaps unjustly, to have imitated. Baudouine’s production was huge; he employed up to 200 workers, including 70 cabinetmakers. He favoured the Rococo Revival style based on simplified versions of Louis XV designs and frequently travelled to France to purchase upholstery material, hardware, and trim. He also brought back furniture made in France, which he sold in his shop along with his own stock. Anthony Kimbel (d 1895) was Baudouine’s designer in the years before the shop closed about 1856.
In 1842 William Corcoran, wealthy banker friend of Mrs James K. Polk, ordered 42 carved, rosewood chairs for the State Dining Room in the White House from Baudouine. These balloon-back chairs with cabriole legs upholstered in purple velvet were part of the White House renovation that Congress funded soon after Polk was elected president (side chair, ...
