Among the recent acquisitions, and distinguished by their great documentary value, is an ensemble of four watercolours set in their original gilded Empire frames.

They were acquired at Drouot with the help of FRAM (Regional Museum Acquisition Fund) and represent different textile properties belonging to the Oberkampf family.

One of them is dated, and bears the signature of Oberkampf's eldest daughter "Julie Feray, 1811." Because of their identical style and the subjects represented, one can easily conclude that the watercolours are all by this artist and that they date from the same period.

Marie-Julie Oberkampf, married name Feray, (1777 - † 1843) was the daughter of Christophe Philippe Oberkampf, creator and owner of the Printed Textile Factory at Jouy-en-Josas.
Born in Jouy-en-Josas to Oberkampf's first wife, Marie-Louise Pétineau, she spent her childhood in Jouy. The family home was within the factory grounds.
In 1797, Julie married Louis Feray, son of a shipper from Le Havre. The couple moved to Corbeil. At the request of her father, they started construction of a spinning mill at Essonnes, to compensate for problems with British imports due to blockade. Eventually, several large buildings were completed: a spinning mill, a weaving mill, and a foundry (for mechanical equipment) providing employment for more than 700 workers and 1,400 auxiliaries.
Not far from the mill was the printed cloth factory known as the Indienne, a property purchased by Oberkampf for his brother Frederick in 1770.

These three areas - Jouy-en-Josas, Corbeil, and Chantemerle at Essonnes - formed the framework of Julie Feray's life.
She wanted to capture them in these drawings. 

Thus she represents Chantemerle, the Feray property, in two watercolours that feature the spinning mill and the family chateau. One of these is signed and dated.

L'Indienne de Corbeil, toute proche, appartenant à son oncle Frédéric et plus tard à son cousin Widmer, lui est certainement aussi familière que son  propre domaine.

The Indienne in nearby Corbeil, belonging to her uncle Frederick and later to her cousin Widmer, was certainly as familiar to her as her own property.
As for the factory at Jouy, her birthplace and the residence of her parents, Julie included it in this series of drawings, no doubt as a tribute to her father and his legendary achievements.