From the Age of La Peinture en Lettres
A kaleidoscopic survey of letterforms from nineteenth- and twentieth-century France, Lettres Décoratives includes more than 150 plates from grand lithographic albums printed at the height of the sign painter’s craft. Originally made to demonstrate styles and inspire artists to decorate cities with increasingly colorful, adventurous, and refined forms, these portfolios preserve a rich visual history of urban alphabets.
An introduction by practitioner Morgane Côme explores the story of French sign painting and its historic albums, while additional texts shed light on their contents. Featuring dozens of monumental alphabets, Lettres Décoratives is a portal to the past, as well as a valuable resource for contemporary sign painters and designers today.
Morgane Côme is a sign painter based in Quimperlé, France. After working as a graphic designer in London for five years, she discovered sign painting during a trip to New York City. Workshops with Pierre Tardif and Mike Meyer in 2014 sparked her passion for the craft, which she has pursued ever since. In 2016, she returned to France and established her studio in Brittany, where she creates bespoke hand-painted lettering for independent businesses. Passionate about preserving the craft’s heritage, she shares her knowledge through workshops and archival research. Côme is currently writing a book on the history and practice of sign painting in France, to be published by L’Échappée in the spring of 2026.
Contents
Introduction
Rediscovering a Two-Hundred-Year-Old Craft Morgane Côme
Portfolio Selections
1875
Modèles de lettres: Extrait des vingt premières années du Journal-manuel de peintures
Model Letters: Extracts from the First Twenty Years of the Journal-Manual of Painting
Honoré Opin, Jean-Jacques Petit, and Georges-Adolphe Bisiaux (journal editors)
1882
Modèles de lettres, deuxième série: Extrait des deuxième et troisième séries du Journal-Manuel de peintures
Model Letters, Volume 2: Extracts from the Second and Third Series of the Journal-Manual of Painting
Pierre Chabat (journal editor)
1882
Modèles de lettres sur vingt tons de fonds différents
Model Letters on Twenty Different Background Tones
Nicolas Glaise
1891
Nouveaux modèles de lettres
New Model Letters
Adolphe Botzum
1895
Modèles de lettres pour peintre en bâtiment: Fantaisie et perspective
Model Letters for Building Painters: Fancy and Perspective
Etienne-Anatole Ducompex
1903
Nouvel album de lettres peintes
New Album of Painted Letters
Paul Fleury
1903
Lettres et enseignes art nouveau
Art Nouveau Letters and Signs
E. Mulier
1907
Décorations peintes pour devantures et intérieurs de magasins
Painted Decorations for Shop Fronts and Interiors
Henry Guédy (editor)
1909
Lettres et enseignes, 2e série
Letters and Signs, Volume 2
Marc Bordère
circa 1910s
Nouveau recueil pratique de lettres modernes à l’usage des peintres
New Practical Collection of Modern Letters for Painters
Louis Ramade
circa 1910s
Nouveau recueil pratique d’enseignes décoratives à l’usage des peintres
New Practical Collection of Decorative Signs for Painters
Louis Ramade
circa 1932
Modèles de lettres modernes
Models of Modern Letters
Georges Léculier
Index
Image Credits, Copyright, and Sources
About the Contributors
Acknowledgments
Details
| Publisher | Letterform Archive |
| Publication date | December 30, 2025 |
| ISBN | 979-8-9891423-9-2 |
| Size | 9.5 × 13 inches |
| Printing | 4 colors throughout |
| Format | Hardcover |
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