Georges Jacob (1739-1814) was born into a family of farmers in the village of Cheny in Burgundy on July 6, 1739. His parents died when he was quite young and he went to Paris at the age of 16 to learn sculpture on wood. He trained as a journeyman-cabinetmaker with the chair and sofa joiner Jean-Baptiste Lerouge in 1756. When the latter died the following year, Jacob continued his apprenticeship for six more years with Lerouge’s widow. It was in this workshop that he met the journeymen Guillaume Boucault, Pierre Forget and especially Louis Delanois, who had a great influence on him and was also a specialist in seats. Georges Jacob was named master on September 4, 1765. He set up in business on the rue Beauregard and subsequently married the 16-year-old Jeanne-Germaine Loyer, who lived on the same street, in 1767. Shortly after, they moved to the rue de Cléry and then finally, in 1775, to the rue Meslée. They had five children, three sons and two daughters. The eldest, Georges (1768-1803), and the youngest, François-Honoré-Georges (1770-1841), both became cabinetmakers and brilliantly helped their father in his business. Starting in 1781, Georges Jacob was appointed to various positions in the joiners-cabinetmakers guild. He was supplier to the court and the princes. On August 13, 1796, he transferred his firm to his two sons.

Georges Jacob II (1768-1803), the son of Georges Jacob and Jeanne-Germaine Loyer, was born in Paris on May 26, 1768. He never married and lived in the family home at 77, rue Meslée. He was exclusively involved with the administration of this enormous enterprise. He and his brother were partners, operating under the name of Jacob Frères, from 1796 until his death. Toward the end of his life, his health worsened and his father, who had always helped and advised his sons, become more involved in the management of the firm. Georges Jacob II died on October 28, 1803.

Jacob-Desmalter was the shop name of the partnership between François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter (1770-1841) and his father Georges Jacob, which lasted from 1803 to 1813. They produced and traded in most of the furniture and art objects of the imperial residences.