Guth, Kurt/ Mery, Marcus/ Mohr, AndreasBiblio.com
Squelette des oiseaux. Squelette du coq – Patte de pingouin. Bird skeleton. Rooster skeleton – Penguin paw.
1819réf. 2499In 1911 Jean Montaudon 1886-1926 Dr Auzoux's great-nephew took over the management of the famous factory of "papier-mâché clastic anatomy models" and wanted to diversify the catalog. He launched into producing illustrated educational posters but had to cope with fierce competition from the houses Deyrolle Hachette and Cie Masson and even Armand Colin. All of them were more established in this key sector of educational publishing. This forced him to adopt a daring and original commercial strategy : the publication of "luxury" wall posters of high scientific accuracy and artistic quality mainly intended for students of universities and Ecoles Normales training schools for future teachers. Therefore he entrusted the printing to one of the most important Art Nouveau producers of posters and advertising objects whose name remains notoriously associated with Mucha Sarah Bernhardt and Lefèvre-Utile : Ferdinand Champenois. As for typography the Auriol font flagship of Art Nouveau too were chosen to adorn the titles and subtitles. The graphic execution of the plates was the work of talented designers who knew how to combine finesse and precision of line with a remarkable sense of color and great attention to detail. Finally for the creation of the drawings he hired two major specialists : the zoologists Rémy Perrier 1861-1936 and Casimir Cépède 1882-1954. The choice of these representatives of French academic excellence proved to be judicious and gave the Auzoux Establishments the new impetus Montaudon wanted for the company. He had probably been convinced by their common attachment to the transmission of knowledge since both graduated from the Ecole Normale. They lead careers as respected teachers within the Faculty of Sciences of Paris and other institutions. The extent of the intellectual networks to which they belonged undoubtedly played a significant role. While Cépède frequented the artistic circles of Bourdelle and Gémier and later worked with Doctor Toulouse on the documentary programs for the Science Department of the Pathé film company Perrier maintained through his brother Edmond director of the Natural History Museum and president of the Academy of Sciences close links with the scientific elite of his time. In addition to their respective areas of expertise malacology and bacteriology-parasitology they had very valuable skills and experience. Among other things Rémy Perrier published several reference works and participated in the development of school illustrations. Also Casimir Cépède developed vaccines and created removable insect models in order to train healthcare teams to antimalaria protocols. Given such skills and experience Montaudon granted them very advantageous contracts 20% copyright and complete freedom on the choice of subjects. Thus by the end of the Wolrd War I the two scientists had planned a "collection" of around 150 plates which was supposed to enable them to "give a complete course in zoology". Series on anatomy human physiology and botany were also considered as indicated in the catalogs. Undeniably the outcome is a real success both in substance and in form - precise rigorous aesthetic - achieving the aim of standing out from other publishers. The first volume of an Atlas de Zoologie et d'Anatomie containing the description of 17 posters also appeared at the beginning of the 1920s. However when the financial results of the company were calculated in 1922 they turned out to be disastrous. The accounting reports underlined the major reason for these economic difficulties were the posters : their distribution remained limited and obviously far too weak to make all the investments profitable. In the end only around thirty of those plates have seen the light of day for the zoology section less than ten for the plant biology section and the second volume of the Atlas was never published. The project ended in 1923 even before Jean Montaudon's death. Four years later his widow decided to sell the establishment to Henri Barral who had also acquired the "Maisons Tramond and Vasseur" specialized in wax anatomy models and the creation of skeletons from dissection remains. It was not before the 1940s that a new series appeared - including the famous schematic posters in color with a black background which were essential attributes of post-war classrooms. Relatively scarce and underrated the educational posters from the "Rémy Perrier and Casimir Cépède collection" have been poorly preserved in heritage institutions or are incomplete. Nowadays they are therefore highly sought after by collectors lovers of natural sciences or cabinets of curiosities. Their very good condition with very little defaults further adds to their quite exceptional character. For security reasons this item will be shipped rolled and in a tube. Jean Montaudon (Ferdinand Champenois printer)
