Permanent exhibition

The museum is primarily devoted to the former printed textile factory founded in Jouy-en-Josas by Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf.
At the museum, you can see collections of Toile de Jouy ("Indian" textiles and fabrics with figure scenes), printing equipment, and old drawings.
The manufacturer's family, his lifestyle, and his keepsakes have not been overlooked: The eighteenth-century furniture, objects of value, and wardrobe evoke the world of Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf.

You can also admire the general collections of French and foreign printed fabrics that were in vogue in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The permanent exhibition stretches across two levels.

The tour begins in a room where the history of the factory, which started production in 1760 and closed in 1843, is evoked by a scale model of the Oberkampf factory in 1821.
Historical documents such as order letters, samples, and old engravings evoke the history of the Jouy factory within the context of the rise in fashion of printed cottons in France. The notions of prohibition of "Indian" textiles and of the factory header stamp, as well as all the machines required to print Jouy textiles, will no longer be a mystery to you.

The tour continues through the Oberkampf room, where one can discover that illustrious personage. Portraits and personal belongings will help you better know the man and his tastes since, thanks to the loan of an exhibit from the Musée du Louvre, the furniture from Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf's living room is displayed here. A fabric reproduction with a polychrome floral design allows one to realize the effect produced by a decor in Toile de Jouy, and brings freshness and radiance to the room.

Costumes belonging to Oberkampf and his family, which joined the museum's collections through the legacies of the manufacturer's descendants, are also presented in this room on a rotating basis.

The next room is dedicated to the printing techniques used at Jouy.
It presents the different printing processes used during the operating period of the factory: wood blocks carved in relief for polychrome motifs, and copper plates and rolls with intaglio engraving for monochrome motifs.

The continuous question of provision of raw materials is also explored. The cotton fabric was already spun and woven on arrival at the factory. Its purchase represented the greatest part of the cost of materials needed for printing. The many colours used were obtained from natural dyes and applied to the fabric using dye baths.
The secrets of colour fixing & maddering are revealed here.
In addition, a documentary presenting a demonstration of printing with wood blocks is offered in the audiovisual room.

The tour continues on the first floor ...

... where you will have time to admire the many Jouy textile creations of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Costumes, samples, borders, preliminary prints (tests carried out on paper before printing), sections of fabric, curtains, and bed coverings will give you an idea of the multitude of motifs printed at Jouy, but also of their various uses, both for clothing and for interior decorating.

Jouy-en-Josas is not the only textile region in France. On the contrary, the final room of the museum is dedicated to the French manufacturers of Nantes and its surroundings, and of Bordeaux, Rouen and Mulhouse. Some European examples complete the presentation.