Biographical Note
Raoul Heilbronner, a prominent antiquaire of the late nineteenth century and during the first decade of the twentieth, came to France as a German soldier during the Franco-Prussian War and remained in Paris. His only son was born there and his two daughters married Frenchmen who also were antiquaires.
Heilbronner started his business before 1887 and specialized in Gothic and Renaissance objects, furniture, tapestries, and statues. Heilbronner’s principal clients seem to have been a number of the great amateur American collectors of the period, as well as dealers here. For this reason, especially, the papers are important for the history of art in America. Heilbronner furnished art objects of high value for the private collections of William Randolph Hearst, Mary A. I. Mitchell Blair, wife of C. J. Blair, of Chicago, and others.
Heilbronner was a German citizen whose collection was confiscated and later sold at public auction after he was designated an enemy alien by the French government during World War I.
Few exact details of Heilbronner’s life have been determined. The date of his death has not been ascertained.