Canson
Encyclopedia
Origins
The story goes that Jean Montgolfier was taken prisoner by the Turks during the Crusades. He was compelled to work in a paper mill in Damascus. Here he learned how to produce paper, knowledge he brought back to Europe, when regaining his freedom.Annonay, the beginning of the Montgolfier success
In 1485, Antoine Vidalon created a cereal mill. The Vidalon Paper Mills (Vidalon-le-Haut and Vidalon-le-Bas) were most probably created in the sixteenth century on the river Deûme in DavézieuxDavézieux
Davézieux is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France.-Population:-References:*...
parish near Annonay, France
Annonay
Annonay is a commune in the north of the Ardèche department in the Rhône-Alpes region in southern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department, although it is not the capital, which resides in the smaller town of Privas.-Geography:...
from the cereal mill that was transformed. Born in the region of Beaujolais, Vidalon family is friend with Jean Montgolfier, who is also a papermaker in the Réveillon mill. Jean sent his two sons, Raymond and Michel, to Vidalon, so they can improve their knowledge.
In 1693, Raymond and Michel Montgolfier married the daughters of Antoine Chelles, the owner of the paper mills. The Montgolfier family subsequently ran the mills.
Pierre Montgolfier (1700-1793), son of Raymond, was a brilliant manufacturer that aimed in modernizing the profession. Thanks to him, Vidalon mills grew up rapidly. For instance, he developed the Dutch beaters to replace the mallet troughs.
One of his 16 children, Joseph Montgolfier is a brilliant inventor. He developed the Bleu de Prusse colour and a new device to raise water … With his brother Etienne Montgolfier, he created the first hot air balloon, the montgolfière. They used their own paper to make the envelope and they engineered an eating system to inflate it. The first flight took place in Vidalon on December 14 1782. A memorial still exists in the former paper mill’s courtyard, nearby the native house of the Montgolfier brothers and the current Papeteries Canson & Montgolfier museum.
Their mark is visible in the logo, it consists of a stylized hot air balloon - a reference to the Montgolfier brothers
Montgolfier brothers
Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were the inventors of the montgolfière-style hot air balloon, globe aérostatique. The brothers succeeded in launching the first manned ascent, carrying Étienne into the sky...
, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne, pioneers of the hot air balloon
Hot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
.
In 1783, [Louis XVI ennobled Pierre Montgolfier and his family, both on account of the aerostatic invention and on that of the strides that they have spurred in the papermaking industry.
In 1784, the paper mills were granted the name "Manufacture Royale".
Barthélémy Barou de la Lombardière de Canson
One of the daughters of (Jacques-)Etienne Montgolfier, Alexandrine, married Barthélémy de Canson who ran the mills after Etienne's death in 1799.In 1801, the company became "Montgolfier et Canson", then "Canson-Montgolfier" en 1807.
Barthélémy de Canson made the paper mill grow and developed many new processes: mass dying, the continuous paper machine, the suction boxes, mass sizing...
He has also invented the tracing paper in 1807 thanks to high refining of the paper pulp..
He installed the first Robert machine around 1820.
In 1853, Canson invented a media for positive and negative prints. It perfected it and was granted numerous patents in France and abroad. This paper cut out the need to use platinum or gold chloride, so was easier and cheaper to use.
In 1860, the Montgolfier papermills were the largest in France. The company was registered as "Societe Anonyme" under the name "Anciennes manufactures Canson & Montgolfier" in 1881.
Canson and the artists
Canson has created for Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a friend of Adélaïde de Montgolfier, daughter of Etienne de Canson, a laid drawing paper.In 1910, Gustave Maillol developed, for his uncle Aristide, a special paper for printmaking. He installed his small factory in Montval near Paris. He had to stop because of World War I and, when he came back home, his equipments were scattered. He then asked Canson in Annonay to develop and produce "Les Papiers de Montval", that are still sold nowadays..
Many artists have used Canson paper: Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
, Joan Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
, Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
, Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, Picasso, Delacroix
Delacroix
Delacroix derives from de la Croix . It may refer to:In people:* Caroline Delacroix , French-Romanian mistress of Leopold II of Belgium* Charles-François Delacroix , French ambassador to the Netherlands...
, Matisse, ....
XXth century
In 1926, Canson opened a subsidiary in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA.
In 1947, Canson created the famous French « pochette », so teachers no longer have to transport heavy stacks of pads.
En 1956, Blanchet et Kléber de RIves joined the mills of d'ARches, JOhannot d'Annonay, et du MArais and created Arjomari (ARches, JOhannot, MArais, RIves).
The Arjomari company acquired Papeteries Canson & Montgolfier in 1976.
In 1990, Arjomari merged with the Wiggins Teape Appleton group and became the Arjo Wiggins
Arjo Wiggins
Arjo Wiggins is a leading producer of paper products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and used to be a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but is now owned by Worms & Cie.-History:...
group.
End of 2006, the group Hamelin acquired Canson with all its subsidiaries. Hamelin is a European supplier of school, office and fine art products. Oxford and Elba are brands of the Hamelin group..
Canson nowadays
Canson employs 400 persons in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Canson logo
In 1784, when the paper mill became manufacture Royale, Canson donned its device and coats of arms. Annonay’s red and golden blazon, the hot air balloon that Joseph and Etienne had invented, and paper blended into the coat of arms. The device, Ite per Orbem, (« Travel the world ») referred to Montgolfier paper, which was already international.Nowadays, the Canson logo is a stylized hot-air balloon.
Products
The following chart contains all the Canson product lines, sold under the brands "Canson" and "ArchesArches paper
Arches paper is a type of air-dried paper that is preferred amongst printers and watercolorists. It has a warm-white colour and can be found in hot-pressed, cold-pressed, and rough varieties. Arches paper is valued for its durability, and is still made today at the Arches paper mill in Lorraine,...
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| Category | Range of papers |
|---|---|
| Fine Art | Warecolour, oil, acrylic, pastel, graphic arts, printmaking |
| School | School lines |
| Technical & digital | Printing & photography, technical drawing Technical drawing Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry.... , office |
| Arts & Craft | Handicraft, leisure photo paper |
There are many range of products : Montval, a rage for watercolour papers ; Mi-Teintes, coloured paper for pastel, drawing and handicrafts; Ingres Vidalon, a coloured laid paper; "C" à Grain and 1557, drawing paper ; Figueras, paper for oil and acrylic; Infinity : digital fine art and photographic paper; XL, products for students
Cotton paper is durable and holds up to water, rubber cement and wax treatments. They also make sketch pads, rolls and sheets of paper with different tooth and weight. This is for graphite, pastel, charcoal and ink use.
Canson also produces specialty sheets and framing board for chalk pastel use under the brand-name Mi-Teintes. Composed of 60% cotton, the sheets are heavy, rough in texture, and come in 60 colors.
Fonds Canson pour l'Art et le Papier
In 2010, the Hamelin group and Canson created the Fonds Canson pour l'art et le papier (Fondation for Art and Paper). The objective is to organize sponsoring actions for artists who work with paper. Its main action is the Prix Canson (Canson award) for an emerging artist who is accomplishing a remarkable work with paper..In 2010, The Prix Canson was awarded to Fabien Mérelle by a jury whose president was Gérard Garouste.
In 2011, Ronald Cornelissen, Dutch artist, was awarded the Prix Canson..
Canson and the Louvre
Since 2010, Canson is a major sponsor of the Louvre museum and is supporting the following actions: the Internet website of the museum, the digitisation of the prints and drawings department's collection.Canson has also sponsored Le Papier à l’œuvre , an exhibition on interaction between paper and artists, who took place from June to September 2011 in the Louvre museum. Some works of great artists were done on Canson paper: Nu bleu IV from Henri Matisse and Combustion, mèche noire et traces de brûlures sur papier Canson II from Christian Jaccard, as well as a contmporary work from Dominique de Beir, Le Blanc, c'est la nuit.