Lettres Décoratives and the History of French Sign Painting
Inside Letterform Archive’s new book and a video presentation from its author, Morgane Côme.
Lettres Décoratives: A Century of French Sign Painter Alphabets is the new book from Letterform Archive. Here’s a glimpse inside, plus the recording of last week’s online event where I got to talk with Morgane Côme about her work on the book’s introductory essay.
Lettres Décoratives
From Letterform Archive / Morgane Côme
Lettres Décoratives is a monumental publication in every sense of the word. Weighing in at a colossal 1.8 kg (4 lb), it is filled with a stunning collection of plates from French sign painter portfolios printed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These have been painstakingly reproduced, with care taken to faithfully match the brilliant colours on the original chromolithographic prints.
Each of the 12 portfolios, spanning the period 1875–1932, is introduced by a short text discussing stylistic themes and giving notes on their creators and the context in which they were produced. The plates themselves then range from relatively simple presentations of alphabets to virtuoso compositions by master craftspeople of the time. In between, there’s everything from beautiful Art Nouveau sign designs to incredible dimensional effects applied to quintessentially French letterforms.
Spreads from Lettres Décoratives, which measures a whopping 25 × 34 mm (9.3 × 13 in).
All of this is set up for the reader by an extended, and accessible, essay by French sign painter Morgane Côme. (The essay, and the book, is in English.) This walks through the history of signs and sign painting in France, placing the portfolios in context and examining the role they have to play as the craft finds itself in resurgence in the country. It’s a fascinating read and perhaps the first time that such a detailed account of France’s sign painting story has been made widely available.
I had been anticipating this book ever since Stephen Coles dropped a hint that it was in progress during one his BLAG Meet sessions. (There was a also a little appetiser in the ‘Inside Letterform Archive’ piece in BLAG 02.) However, I was not prepared for being quite as awestruck as I was when I received my copy a couple of weeks ago.
’Lettres Décoratives: A Century of French Sign Painters’ Alphabets pagethrough’ on Vimeo.
No corners have been cut in producing the book, and the design by Violaine & Jérémy is as masterful as its contents. Their cover is a case in point: it takes inspiration from the letterforms within, with the addition of debossed panels and subtle gold foil accents. There’s then the chef’s kiss of having the text on the spine set on a brush handle and oriented in the French-European direction, versus the archive’s other publications.
The History and Craft of French Sign Painting
To celebrate the book’s launch last month, Letterform Archive hosted one of their regular Salon sessions. I was honoured to join author Morgane Côme in exploring some of the themes from her essay and placing these, and the portfolios, within a wider, international context. The recording from the event is available to watch here.
‘Salon Series 56: The History and Craft of French Sign Painting’ on Vimeo.
As I say at the beginning of the session, hats off to everyone involved in the creation of this exceptional publication. I would say it’ll take pride of place on my shelf, but I’d need to get a taller shelf for it to actually fit. I guess that means its rightful place is front and centre on the coffee table!
Lettres Décoratives: A Century of French Sign Painter Alphabets is out now and available to purchase from the BLAG shop and directly from Letterform Archive.
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