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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Grand-Est
  4. Meurthe-et-Moselle
  5. 54000 Nancy

  6. Building, old printing Royer

Building, old printing Royer en Meurthe-et-Moselle

Meurthe-et-Moselle

Building, old printing Royer

    21 Rue de la Salpêtrière
    54000 Nancy
Immeuble, ancienne imprimerie Royer
Immeuble, ancienne imprimerie Royer
Crédit photo : Doique - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1868
Printing Foundation
1875
Diversification to typography
1886
Adoption of phototyping
1899-1900
Construction of Art Nouveau plant
1900
Death of Jules Royer
1988
End of industrial activity
13 juillet 1994
Historic Monument Protection
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Façade sur rue (Box BW 385) : inscription by order of 13 July 1994

Key figures

Jules Royer - Founder of printing The company was founded in 1868, pioneer of phototyping.
Paul Royer - Leader and successor He took over in 1900, involved in the École de Nancy.
Lucien Weissenburger - Plant architect Designed the Art Nouveau building in 1899-1900.
Ernest Bussière - Sculptor of decors Realized the high reliefs of the facade.
Albert Bergeret - Phototyping Manager Directed the workshop before starting its own printing.

Origin and history

Royer was founded in 1868 by Jules Royer in Nancy, in the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. Originally specialized in lithography, she moved to Rue Saint-Dizier before diversifying her activities towards typography in 1875. Jules Royer, trained at the Vicar lithograph, develops a family business that thrives with his son Paul, marking the beginning of an artistic production linked to Art Nouveau.

In the 1880s, printing was distinguished by its innovation, notably with the adoption of phototyping in 1886, a first in Nancy. Jules Royer hired Albert Bergeret to lead the workshop, before he founded his own printing company in 1898. The production then focuses on postcards, capturing the emblematic architecture of the city, like the combined Shops, while collaborating with major figures of the School of Nancy, including Émile Gallé.

In 1899 Jules Royer entrusted architect Lucien Weissenburger with the construction of a new factory on Rue de la Salpêtrière, completed in 1900. This building, combining industrial rationalism and Art Nouveau decorations, incorporates high reliefs carved by Ernest Bussière and reinforced concrete floors made by France-Lanord and Bichaton. After Jules's death in 1900, his son Paul took over, involving printing in the artistic life of the Netherlands, despite social tensions such as the strike of 1901.

The Royer printing press becomes a key player in the diffusion of Art Nouveau, publishing advertising material for the combined stores or the East Railways. His creations, from postcards to menus, reflect the curved and naturalistic aesthetics of the movement. The factory, protected as a historical monument in 1994 for its façade, ceased its activity in 1988 and is now converted into offices and housing units.

The building embodies the alliance between industry and art, characteristic of the Nancy School. Its apparent metal structure, polychrome bricks and naturalist sculptures make it a unique testimony to the industrial architecture of the time. The protection of its facade is part of a regional campaign to preserve the Art Nouveau heritage in Lorraine.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum