Boussoles air du temps Back to the future The Épinal picture-printing company founded in 1796 is among the oldest of its kind still in business. After a buyout in 2014, its wonderful collection of color illustrations has been given a spectacular new lease on life. The picture prints known as images d’Épinal were pioneered of capitaine de corvette in the French navy), was dazzled. The in the late 18th century by playing-card and domino maker factory had a huge archive collection, piled high from cellar to Jean-Charles Pellerin and became hugely popular. In France, the attic, 8,000 Bavarian lithographic stones—a real treasure—and term has become generic, meaning a stereotype or an idealized a German buyer waiting in the wings. There was just one prob- image. Pellerin’s heirs followed in his footsteps, broadening the lem: the Imagerie had more than one owner—52 shareholders range of themes to embrace history, botany, religion, animals, in all, the result of the rescue takeover 30 years earlier. In the end, Napoleon (one of Pellerin’s sons was a former hussar), politics, they practically handed over the keys to her. birds and trades, while also producing stage scenery, cut-out Once the buyout was completed in August 2014, Lorimy and her games and dolls, and educational or edifying prints, because for associate re-registered the brand (with the help of the publisher a long time propaganda of every kind was channeled through Larousse, who officially confirmed that the name had existed images. The images d’Épinal remained very popular until the before it became an everyday expression), renovated the site and 1930s, when they began their inexorable decline, despite a brief workshops, started up the printing works again, found new mar- TV revival in the French kids’ show RécréA2. kets, approached local design and decoration stores, and co- The factory in Épinal was saved by the town’s mayor and min- published a number of picture books. The Galeries Lafayette ister of social affairs and employment at the time, Philippe department store snapped up the stationery. The Japanese were Séguin. It was listed, but barely managed to scrape by, surviving wild about the wallpaper produced by Lyon firm Prismaflex, the on its former glory. In 2014, its fortunes were revived when British swooned over the textiles made by Tissus d’Avesnières, Christine Lorimy, a strategy consultant after a career in market- another historic company based in Laval since 1881, and Greek- ing and crisis management, came to Épinal for an audit and was American interior designer Andria Mitsakos used them in hotels given a tour of the Imagerie. Lorimy, a native of nearby Vesoul, in Florida and the British Virgin Islands. The Clairefontaine sta- which she says she “swam” away from (she reached the rank tionery company, also based in eastern France, put in orders for 84