founder of a long line of French furniture makers. He was among the first cabinetmakers in France to use mahogany extensively and excelled at carved wood furniture, particularly chairs.

Born of a Burgundian peasant family, Jacob moved to Paris at 16 and is believed to have been apprenticed to Louis Delanois. He made chairs for Marie-Antoinette and other members of the royal household but became better known after the Revolution. With the help of the painter Jacques-Louis David, he was commissioned to make furniture for the revolutionary Committee of Public Safety. He retired in 1796, handing over the business to his two sons, Georges and François-Honoré, but seven years later, on the death of Georges, he returned to the firm, which was renamed Jacob Desmalter. Jacob's fame is mainly attached to pieces he made for the Bonapartes late in his career.