Louis Pouchée
Encyclopedia
Louis John Pouchée (1782 - 15 March 1845), was a London
type founder and entrepreneur.
, but it was in 1818 that Pouchée established his type foundry
in Lincoln's Inn Fields
. He imported Henri Didot
’s mechanical typefounding machine, the machine polyamatype, in 1823 which could cast 200 types at once and repeat the process two or three times a minute. Pouchée also paid Didot 48,000 Francs for the patent rights of a planing and cross-cutting machine. Pouchée soon became a major manufacturer of pictorial stock-blocks and printers’ ornaments. Type from Pouchée’s foundry was used to print the Evening Times newspaper.
Pouchée recruited skilled staff and paid high wages, but sold his type more cheaply than other foundries. He was forced out of business in 1830 by the other typefounders, whose prices he undercut. Pouchée sold his typecasting machine to Mr Reed, Covent Garden printer, for £100, however Reed was frontman for a syndicate of type founders, who arranged to have the machine taken out to sea and dumped over board.
Pouchée was a Freemason
(he was initiated into the Egyptian Lodge in October 1811) and owned numerous hare coursing greyhounds. Little is known about the later years of Pouchée’s life although he is recorded as being in Paris during the July Revolution
; giving money to the widow of a workman who had taken up arms with his employer, an English printer.
. They were discovered at the sale of the W. H. Calson & Co foundry in 1936, at that time identified simply as ‘Victorian’ curiosities and after spending the Second World War in a store in London were transferred for a time to Oxford University Press
. It wasn’t until 1966 that they were identified, by St Bride Librarian James Mosley, as being from the foundry of L. J. Pouchée. This was afterwards corroborated by the discovery of a type catalogue, ‘Specimens of Stereotype Casting, from the Foundry of L J Pouchée’.
These original wooden blocks have since been used by Ian Mortimer for reproduction sets using iron hand presses. Published by I. M. Imprint and St Bride Library, 200 sets were produced over a period of two and a half years.
Characters from one of Pouchée’s alphabets are used on the cover artwork for the Pulp
album We Love Life
, designed by Peter Saville. Another of Pouchée's alphabets was used by the street artist Ben Eine
to cover shop shutters in London's East End.
, Pouchée’s staff created fat-face style letters featuring flowers, fruit, animals, agricultural implements, musical instruments and Masonic symbols. Up to 26 lines in cap height and made from single blocks of end-grain boxwood, they were intended as eye-catching elements for printed posters. They were described in one of the extra scenes of the documentary film Typeface
as the most ambitious and most beautiful types created in wood in any period.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
type founder and entrepreneur.
Career
Pouchée is first recorded as the proprietor of Alamode Beef and Veal House (1811–1812) and Pouchée & Co Coal Merchants (1811–22), both in HolbornHolborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
, but it was in 1818 that Pouchée established his type foundry
Type foundry
A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Originally, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and Monotype machines designed to be printed on letterpress printers...
in Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, UK. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes...
. He imported Henri Didot
Didot
Didot is the name of a family of French printers, punch-cutters and publishers. Through its achievements and advancements in printing, publishing and typography, the family has lent its name to typographic measurements developed by François-Ambroise Didot and the Didot typeface developed by Firmin...
’s mechanical typefounding machine, the machine polyamatype, in 1823 which could cast 200 types at once and repeat the process two or three times a minute. Pouchée also paid Didot 48,000 Francs for the patent rights of a planing and cross-cutting machine. Pouchée soon became a major manufacturer of pictorial stock-blocks and printers’ ornaments. Type from Pouchée’s foundry was used to print the Evening Times newspaper.
Pouchée recruited skilled staff and paid high wages, but sold his type more cheaply than other foundries. He was forced out of business in 1830 by the other typefounders, whose prices he undercut. Pouchée sold his typecasting machine to Mr Reed, Covent Garden printer, for £100, however Reed was frontman for a syndicate of type founders, who arranged to have the machine taken out to sea and dumped over board.
Pouchée was a Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
(he was initiated into the Egyptian Lodge in October 1811) and owned numerous hare coursing greyhounds. Little is known about the later years of Pouchée’s life although he is recorded as being in Paris during the July Revolution
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
; giving money to the widow of a workman who had taken up arms with his employer, an English printer.
The Discovery and Reproduction of Pouchée’s Alphabets
23 of Pouchée’s decorated alphabets have survived and are now held at the St Bride LibrarySt Bride Library
St Bride Library is a library in London primarily devoted to printing, book arts, typography and graphic design...
. They were discovered at the sale of the W. H. Calson & Co foundry in 1936, at that time identified simply as ‘Victorian’ curiosities and after spending the Second World War in a store in London were transferred for a time to Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
. It wasn’t until 1966 that they were identified, by St Bride Librarian James Mosley, as being from the foundry of L. J. Pouchée. This was afterwards corroborated by the discovery of a type catalogue, ‘Specimens of Stereotype Casting, from the Foundry of L J Pouchée’.
These original wooden blocks have since been used by Ian Mortimer for reproduction sets using iron hand presses. Published by I. M. Imprint and St Bride Library, 200 sets were produced over a period of two and a half years.
Characters from one of Pouchée’s alphabets are used on the cover artwork for the Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
album We Love Life
We Love Life
Initial critical response to We Love Life was very positive. The album received an average score of 84 at Metacritic, based on 20 reviews. The music review online magazine Pitchfork Media placed We Love Life at number 194 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.-Track listing:All songs written...
, designed by Peter Saville. Another of Pouchée's alphabets was used by the street artist Ben Eine
Ben Eine
Eine is a prolific street artist based in London, England.-Life and career:Eine is most notable for his alphabet lettering on shop shutters in London's Shoreditch, Brick Lane and Broadway Market areas. Some of these letters have been mapped for ease of finding...
to cover shop shutters in London's East End.
Description of the Alphabets
The most richly ornamented letters ever to have been made for letterpress printingLetterpress printing
Letterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image...
, Pouchée’s staff created fat-face style letters featuring flowers, fruit, animals, agricultural implements, musical instruments and Masonic symbols. Up to 26 lines in cap height and made from single blocks of end-grain boxwood, they were intended as eye-catching elements for printed posters. They were described in one of the extra scenes of the documentary film Typeface
Typeface (film)
Typeface is an independent documentary film, produced by Kartemquin Films, about visual culture, technology and graphic design, centered around the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin...
as the most ambitious and most beautiful types created in wood in any period.