Born in Paris in 1804, he studied at the seminary in Tours and was ordained a priest in 1827. First appointed curate at the cathedral, Father Plailly became parish priest of Saint-Pierre-des-Corps in 1837.
A cultured artist, he took an interest in the art of stained-glass. He trained at the Manufacture de Sèvres and above all with Gustave Bontemps in Choisy-le-Roi.
Back in Tours, he sought advice from Charles Avisseau, who built him a kiln. Father Plailly set up his workshop and laboratory in one of the rooms of the presbytery.
In 1846, he created his first stained-glass window, “The Annunciation”, and installed it in his church. The window drew attention at the congress of the Société française d’archéologie (French Archaeological Society) and a subscription was launched to open a painted-glass workshop. It opened in December 1847, with Father Plailly and Julien-Léopold Lobin among its members. Working together, they completed, within a few months, all the aisle windows of the Saint-Pierre church.
In 1848 the workshop ran into financial difficulties. On 1 December of that same year, Julien-Léopold Lobin was appointed director of the workshop, and Father Plailly would pass on to him his manufacturing secrets.
He died in 1885 and is buried in La Salle cemetery.