The third large Mirecurtian violin-making company is the COUESNON company. She comes from the large company GAUTROT de Paris and Château Thierry, whose best known boss is Pierre Louis GAUTROD, born in 1845 and not in Mirecourt in 1830 as René VANNE tells us. It was he who founded the Château THIERRY factory in 1865.
It seems that this factory already existed in Paris in 1845, only for brass, since a GAUTROT succeeded GUICHARD that year.
At the end of the 19th century, GAUTROT employed two hundred workers at Château Thierry. It is from 1885 that this company launches into the violin making, with the entry of Maurice MERMILLOT in the workshop of PARIS. This luthier, a pupil of Charles GAILLARD, then of Jean Baptiste VUILLAUME, worked at GUADAGNINI in Turin, at GAND-BERNARDEL, and settled in Paris in 1876. He followed the example of Nicolas VUILLAUME, Charles BUTHOD and Auguste DARTE, in dedicating himself to industry, after learning the craft. We see that Jean Baptiste VUILLAUME has a primordial influence in the emergence of industry. The need for inexpensive instruments was surely great in Paris at this time.
GAUTROT then COUESNON employ workers and apprentices such as Alfred Joseph LAMY, Georges BRUBACH, André COINUS, Emile GOURRIER or Paul SERDET.
In 1887, COUESNON succeeded GAUTROT, and in 1901, Georges CHERPITE, from THIBOUVILLE, succeeded MERMILLOT, who died and took over the management of the Parisian workshops. In 1912, COUESNON publishes a small format
catalog , presenting itself more as an educational book. It includes many models of violins, and beautiful color reproductions.
There are few trademarks there, apart from 'LE MIRECOURIEN', the 'NICOLAS' model, the inevitable 'MARQUIS DE L'AIR' and 'BRETON', and imitations of Italian and French authors. Some of these violins are obviously made in Mirecourt, although the company does not yet have a workshop there.
In 1913, COUESNON absorbs Léon BERNARDEL, apprentice of Justin DERAZEY and pupil of GAND BERNARDEL who has been living in Paris since 1898. The company name becomes COUESNON and Léon BERNARDEL Réunis. In 1925, it will also be called a public limited company 'La Lutherie Lorraine' and will be established in Mirecourt. Emile GOURRIER and Gaston BERNEZ, who had created a company together in 1922 will be the bosses.
The 1934 catalog is rich in trademarks. We find of course, 'BRETON' and 'MARQUIS DE L'AIR, but also some others like:' H BLAISE ',' Arthur PARISOT ',' Ludovicus MEUROT ',' S ESTEVANT ', countless copies, signed violins CHERPITEL, GOURRIER, BERNEZ and of course, many Léon BERNARDEL models.
This company still existed in 1956 in Mirecourt, but soon closed its violin-making workshops, to limit itself to its first activity as a wind instrument maker, in Chateau Thierry.
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