Lorilleux International was a French printing-ink manufacturer whose corporate identity evolved through several mergers and name changes during the twentieth century. The company’s visual history is documented primarily through its earlier factory emblem and its later promotional materials, while specific details about a 1971 logo design remain unverified in available sources.
Design and History
The Lorilleux business was founded in Paris in 1818 by Pierre Lorilleux, who became the first manufacturer of printing inks after working for the Royal Printing House.[1] In 1824, the factory moved to the Moulin à Vent de Chantecoq in Puteaux, and the silhouette of this windmill was adopted as the company emblem, appearing on its trademark and promotional materials.[1][2] The mill-based logo was still in use in the 1890s, when it appeared on a celebrated advertising calendar illustrated by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha.[2]
In 1963, the company merged with Lefranc, another major French ink producer.[1] By the early 1970s, the firm operated under the name Lorilleux International, with headquarters in France and a president named Vincent Morane.[3] A Swiss commercial register entry from 1977 lists the company as “Lorilleux International Puteaux,” confirming the name was in use during that period.[4]
In 1988, Lorilleux International merged with the British firm Coates Brothers to form the Coates Lorilleux group.[5] The company later became a subsidiary of the American group Sun Chemical.[1]
Claims that French poster artist Alain Carrier designed a Lorilleux International logo in 1971 cannot be confirmed by available documentation. Carrier did run his own creative agency from 1969 to 1974, specializing in posters, logotypes, graphic charters and slogans,[6] but no source connects him specifically to Lorilleux.
Meaning and Symbolism
The earliest documented Lorilleux emblem drew on the Chantecoq windmill at Puteaux, where the factory was established in 1824. The mill’s silhouette served as the company’s trademark and appeared on its printed materials, including the Mucha calendar of 1894.[1][2] A 1972 tapestry by Jean Picart Le Doux also depicted the Lorilleux firm logo, which by then still referenced the Chante-Coq mill.[7]
Beyond this mill-based emblem, no documented symbolism for a later Lorilleux International logo has been found in available sources.
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