1840 Pellerin Pictorial Broadside of the Paris - Saint Germain Railroad

Jean-Charles Pellerin (1756 - 1836) was a French illustrator, artist, and printer. Born in Epinal, France, Pellerin expanded on his fathers business and founded Imagerie Pellerin, also known as the Imagerie Epinal, in 1796. Until 1810, the Imagerie Pellerin published religious images and card games. Little by litte the firm began publishing scenes of Napoleonic War battles or portaits of Napoleon. This trend of printing political imagery continued through the Restoration and the July Monarchy. Nicolas Pellerin (Jean-Charles's son) and his brother-in-law Pierre-Germain Vadet took over the firm in 1822 and moved away from publishing cards. They began publishing images almost exclusively. They also took advantage of innovations in printing techniques and used xylography, lithography, and, beginning around 1854 - 1855, chromolithography. Georges Pellerin (Charles's son) took over the business in 1888 following his father's death, along with his stepbrother Pol Payonne. This change in leadership led the firm to begin publishing material geared toward children, some of which met with some controversy. Some of these works, many of which were scientific in nature, were marketed to schools, but teachers were not enthusiastic about them. This lack of enthusiasm caused these materials to sell poorly. During both the Franco-Prussian War and World War I, the Imagerie Pellerin published pro-French propaganda. Georges Pellerin died after World War I, and with his death the firm became known as l'Imagerie Pellerin SA. With a break in operations during World War II, the Imagerie Pellerin continues to operate in Epinal to this day. More by this mapmaker...