Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse Bronze Bust of Emile Justin Menier

Our fine bust of Emile Justin Menier by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887) measures 29 in (73.7 cm) tall and is in good condition, with light rubbing wear, scratches and some light dirt in crevices.  Signed A. Carrier-Belleuse Paris 1880 and b. Martin fonduer.

Menier (1826-1881) was a successful pharmaceutical manufacturer, chocolatier and politician.  Upon the death of his father, Antoine Menier in 1853, he inherited a large and successful Parisian company that manufactured a range of medicinal powders. However, he eventually would devote himself to the making of fine chocolate.  The Menier Chocolate company purchased cocoa estates in Nicaragua and sugar beet fields in France. In 1864 he sold his interest in the drug-manufacturing business, and thenceforth confined himself to chocolate, building up an immense trade.  In 1870 he built a factory in London and the following  year hired architect Jules Saulnier to design a new chocolate factory to replace their existing facility in Noisiel.

Menier served as mayor of Noisiel from 1871 to 1881. Members of the family would be the commune's mayor until 1959. From 1876 until his death he had a seat in the French National Assembly.  Menier was the author of several books on business and economics, including L'impôt sur le capital (1872), La Réforme fiscale (1872), Economie rurale (1875), L'Avenir économique (1875–1878), Atlas de la production de la richesse (1878) and, published in the English language by G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York City in 1878, France And The United States: Their Present Commercial Relations Considered With Reference to a Treaty of Reciprocity.

In 1878 Menier was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor. He died at Noisiel-sur-Marne in 1881 and was interred in the Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. His sons Henri and Gaston succeeded him in the business. Members of the Menier family would run the chocolate company until 1959.  A statue of Émile-Justin Menier was erected in the town square in Noisiel in 1898.

The Menier family continued to manage Chocolate Menier until 1971 when it was acquired by Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery. In 1988, Menier became part of Swiss conglomerate Nestlé when it acquired Rowntree Mackintosh. In 1996, Menier moved production to Swiss city of Broc, where has remained since then.  The former building at the Noisel factory was later turned into the French headquarters of Nestlé France.