Pierre-Émile Legrain (Levallois-Perret, October 2, 1889 - Paris, July 17, 1929) was a French bookmaker and furniture maker. His father owned a distillery and his mother came from Belgium.
In 1904, he decided to become an artist, despite his bad health, and then attended the Ecole des Arts Appliqués Germain-Croix in Paris, where he was taught in painting, sculpture and the designer of theater decors. In 1908 he received a request from Paul Iribe to make drawings for the satirical magazines Le Témain, L'Assiette au Beurre, Le Mot and La Baïonette. Then he made designs for jewelry, fashion and interior design.
Because he was disapproved for military service due to his health, he decided to leave New York in 1914, but remained in Paris because of the outbreak of the First World War and was then classified by the civil guard. At the end of 1916 he was demobilized and the owner of a fashion house sought to ask him for work. This couturier Doucet had work for him, but not in fashion. Although Legrain had never practiced this subject, Doucet requested him to bind his collection of literature into modern book tires. In Doucet's dining room, Legrain began to work, at noon helped by his employer. He finished his assignment and after Doucet exhibited 20 of his tunes in 1919 at the Salon des Sociécité des Artistes Francais, he worked on other assignments for among others: Baron Robert de Rothschild, Louis Barthou, Georges and Auguste Blaizot and Daniel Sickles.
In 1923 he opened his own studio on Rue d'Argenteuil with a number of other book binders. When he wanted to build his own printing and bindery in 1929, a heart attack became fatal and died at the age of 41.
In the relatively short time he was a bookbinder, his hand generated roughly 1300 book tires. For his book tires, Legrain used all kinds of materials such as metal, glass and shark skin. He also made leather bags for cameras, cigarettes and cigarettes and furniture on request. Literature Externe link
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