Arthur Christian et la renaissance de l’art du livre à l’Imprimerie nationale (1895-1906)

The Imprimerie Nationale played an important role in the renaissance of the book, particularly the art book, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, under the leadership of Arthur Christian (1895-1906). Succeeding Prefect Henri Doniol, Arthur Christian took over the management of the Imprimerie Nationale on May 1, 1895, in the midst of a crisis, under attack from private printers, and succeeded in restoring it to the lustre of its rich past. A seasoned lawyer by training (Richepin trial), several times prefect, with multiple political networks (Gambetta, Loubet…), but with no particular knowledge of erudition or typography, he was able to surround himself with competent people (prote Jean-Baptiste Héon) and take advantage of the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900, he drew on the erudition of Anatole Claudin and Léopold Delisle, whose Histoire de l’imprimerie en France (1900), and his lectures on L’Origine de l’imprimerie en France (1900) and Les Débuts de l’imprimerie en France. L’Imprimerie nationale. L’Hôtel de Rohan (1904/1905). Through his bold policy of publishing fine books (from Verlaine’s Parallèlement to Anatole France’s Gutenberg, in partnership with Ambroise Vollard and Édouard Pelletan), he promoted the revival of French typography, bringing « Garamond » back into the limelight, having « le Jaugeon » engraved (1904) and creating his own typeface, « la gothique Christian » (1902), which he used from 1902 onwards in his publications.