Pauline Lafont (philanthropist)

Pauline Lafont (7 May 1879 in Lyon's 3rd arrondissement - 22 February 1955 in  Songieu ) was a French philanthropist.

Involved in the family business alongside her husband Adolphe Lafont, she was also actively involved in social and cultural causes, and donated to the city of Villeurbanne the land and rose garden surrounding her villa, which she had designed herself. These became the Jardin des Tout-petits-Adolphe-Lafont and the Square de la Roseraie.

Biography
Pauline Falb was the daughter of Jacques Adolphe Falb, a schoolteacher, and Charlotte Gurtrium, a merchant.

Her Protestant father came from German-speaking Switzerland, and her mother Charlotte from Prussia. They were naturalized in 1891. Pauline Falb was educated at the Lycée de Jeunes Filles. From an early age, she and her parents got into the habit of helping others. They welcomed young Swiss girls who came to work in Lyon, and her father was very active in the Protestant community.

The day before her 17th birthday, on May 5, 1896, Pauline married Adolphe Lafont, nine years her senior. Their parents were neighbors in Lyon's Cours Gambetta and friends, having known each other since Pauline's birth.

Pauline and her husband stayed in Lyon's 3rd arrondissement. Their marriage produced a daughter, Marcelle, on November 23, 1905. They left Lyon to move into their new villa in Villeurbanne, in the La Ferrandière district.

When Adolphe Lafont died in 1952, Pauline and Marcelle divided his shares between themselves and the Lafont factory employees' association. They retired to the family property at Songieu in the Ain region, where Pauline died three years later. Marcelle took over the property, became mayor of Songieu, and died on October 8, 1982.

Design of the Villa Lafont
In 1919, when her husband had bought land to build his new factory in Villeurbanne, and as it was customary at the time to live next door to his factory, Pauline Lafont guided and influenced the designers in the technical construction office responsible for drawing up the plans and designs that were finalized in 1921. The "Villa Lafont", also known as the "Villa Ferrandière" at 40, rue du Quatre-Septembre and 22, avenue Marc-Sangnier, was completed in 1925. It was listed as a historic monument in 1991.

Its design was thoroughly modern, as Pauline Lafont didn't see it as a social symbol, but rather as a work tool. As a result, everything was accessible from a central hall, which altered the usual distribution of rooms. It incorporated all the modern comforts of the time: freight elevator, pass-through, garde manger and garbage chute in the kitchen; automated watering system on the roof terrace garden; fold-away bed and coat rack in the servants' apartment.

Pauline Lafont was also personally responsible for the interior decoration, which was in the style of the Pompeii villas. The interior featured a painted frieze by R. Burretta, bas-reliefs by Cavina and marble decoration by Ernesto Giavina; several stained-glass windows were designed by Joannès Mayosson, and others by Jacques Grüber of Nancy, who came from the Lafonts' former apartment in Lyon.

Within the Adolphe Lafont company
From the moment she married, Pauline was very active in the Lafont company. At first, she was the cashier at the store on rue de La Guillotière, and from 1906 onwards, although she didn't have the official title, she quickly became financial director. She was heavily involved in seeking financing and proposing subscriptions to increase share capital. She was also involved in clothing production, proposing new models and cuts and monitoring manufacturing costs.

Social initiatives
Pauline Lafont was deeply involved in social initiatives both within the Lafont company and in other areas. For example, she set up a child care center and an internal pension fund for her employees.

During World War I, she welcomed convalescing allied soldiers to the Lafont family estate in the Valromey village. With factories at a standstill, the company organized soup kitchens on its Monplaisir premises. She donated real estate to the Salvation Army. Realizing that there was no kindergarten for young children, and wanting to get involved in the social policy of the city of Villeurbanne, which was developing a hygienic policy at the time, in 1925 she donated a plot of land adjacent to her villa to the town hall to set up a garden reserved for children under the age of six. This was to become one of Villeurbanne's first squares for children, known as the Jardin des Tout-petits (kindergarten). She was involved in the project from the outset, and attended its inauguration. Later, in 1994, the square was renamed Jardin des Tout-petits-Adolphe-Lafont in tribute to the Lafont family.

In 1955, she expressed the wish to give up her rose garden adjacent to her villa and turn it into a public garden. Throughout her life, she had looked after it personally, with the help of rose gardener Meilland. The town became the owner in 1956, after Pauline's death.

Cultural events
In the 1920s, photographs documented her regular attendance at air shows, where she was in contact with the aviators of the day. She and her husband were members of the Rhône flying club. Her daughter Marcelle became an pilot.

In 1935, Pauline's brother-in-law Ernest Lafont set up the Lyon La Doua radio station, and looking for volunteer hosts, asked her sister-in-law to take charge of the women's and children's programs. She ran several columns herself and recruited hosts, including her own daughter Marcelle. She also organized live public broadcasts from the Lyon Conservatory.

The Lafont family had close ties with Auguste and Louis Lumière, and Pauline Lafont's written correspondence with the Lumières showed a real interest in technological advances in photography.

Villeurbanne online encyclopedia


Website of the archives of the civil registers of the city of Lyon


Revue de la société d'histoire de Lyon - Rive gauche du Rhône
