Paris, 1892. Gallery Owner and Collector Siegfried Bing Joins the "Japan Society"
The English Society much expanded by German-French dealer Samuel Bing allowed lovers of Eastern art to gather eight times a year in different places around Paris and share and express their admiration for Japanese aesthetics.

In mid-19th-century Paris, the vogue for Japanese art and design was fueled by the resumption of trade with Japan and the World Exhibitions, which began around this time and displayed articles from the Far East. These expositions spotlighted unknown and "exotic" peoples and places, as well as sumptuous objects and materials, such as textiles, glassware, paintings, ceramics, and furniture. This fascination led Bing to join the Japan Society, to publish the magazine Le Japon Artistique (appearing monthly between 1888 and 1891), and to open a gallery-store, the Maison de l’Art Nouveau (1895–1901), which would become highly prestigious.