Culture
Words by Michel Wlassikoff
Deberny et Peignot, Spécimen Général, 1926
This specimen marked the culmination of the Deberny-Peignot merger, and reflected a reliance on pre-war typefaces, while hinting at a modernist shift more contemporary designs such as .
This specimen marked the culmination of the Deberny-Peignot merger, and reflected a reliance on pre-war typefaces, while hinting at a modernist shift more contemporary designs such as .
The general specimen published by the Deberny and Peignot foundry in 1926 concretizes the merger of the two large French foundries which took place four years before. Note the large range of text typefaces, whether in the style of Elzévirian types of the past century or in series 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22, published a few decades ago, but yet placed in the category of “Modernes”. Most of the highlighted creations date from before the First World War, whether Cochins, which enjoyed great success in the 1910s, or Auriol, Grasset, Giraldon or Della-Robia. The only relative novelties – their implementation also began before the war – are Naudin, Astrée and Dorique, which are only modern in the name given to them by Deberny and Peignot. Charles Peignot, now in charge of the foundry, must ensure the promotion of characters that he did not sponsor and for which he shows little enthusiasm. When the time comes to take stock, he will also say:
“What then did I have to put in my mouth? Dorique drawn by Carlègle, at the request of the art publisher Léon Pichon (cut in 1920-1922), did not seem to me to respond to my ideal […] for Naudin as for Astrée, there existed then in the world of printing and in that of publishing an almost total absence of typographical culture and curiosity; and these two faces made modest careers, not that they were bad, but they went against the grain of the times.”
Charles Peignot wishes to renew his company’s offering and he turns to modernist research; in 1926, he initiated a close collaboration with Cassandre to create an unprecedented and revolutionary letter which would appear two years later: Bifur.
See: Charles Peignot, “Les Peignot : Georges, Charles” Communication et langages, n°59, 1er trimestre 1984. pp. 61-85.
Document : Archives Michel Wlassikoff
