Caressa & Français catalog cover
This is the cover of an catalog published after 1914 by a leading violin-making factory in Paris. “CARESSA & FRANÇAIS” and “TÉLÉPHONE: Wagram 95–56” are set in bold Tiemann-Mediäval. All other text on this page (“12 Rue de Madrid — PARIS” and “LUTHIERS DU CONSERVATOIRE NATIONAL DE MUSIQUE”) use French Oldstyle, which was a very popular typeface at the time.
Caressa & Français was founded in 1901 by Albert Caressa and Henri Français, both of whom had worked for Gand & Bernardel of Paris (founded in 1866). Caressa was the manager of Gand & Bernardel and Français was Gustave Bernardel’s favorite worker. They eventually succeeded (and purchased) the House of Gustave Bernardel, Luthiers du Conservatoire de musique (Luthiers of the National Conservatory of Music).
Over the course of its lifetime this shop became a leading international centre for rare string instruments and was patronized by many of the preeminent names in the concert world. After Français’s retirement in 1920, the factory was taken over by Caressa and changed its name to Maison Albert Caressa (the House of Albert Caressa), and this eventually became the House of Emile Français (son of Henri Français) in 1938. The factory closed in 1981.
See more pages from the catalog on the website of J.P. Cognier – R. Terrier (Luthiers Mirecourt).
3 Comments on “Caressa & Français catalog cover”
Thank you, René. Our typepage entry for French Oldstyle is intended for the American revivals under that name, by Central, Barnhart Brothers & Spindler and later ATF. These designs go back to Elzevir types that were “popularized in France in the eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries […] and again became popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries” [McGrew 1993]. Since this use is from Paris, it likely uses a French typeface from this genre that went under a different name. Unfortunately, my knowledge of French type from this period is limited. I’ll leave the “French Oldstyle” credit for now. Once we know more, we can assign a more accurate typeface.
Sure, please let me know when you find out the French name of it! Unfortunately there’s no digital version of it, such fine font…
Hello Florian, do you think one of Louis Perrin’s typeface is the original French “French oldstyle”?