Paris, 1803. Michel-Ange Marion, an officer in the revolutionary army, founded an embroidery business. The company made flags for the army, embroidered with the name of the unit to which they belonged, as well as military decorations, which, at the time, were embroidered directly onto uniforms.
That same year, another officer, one Claude Arthus-Bertrand, founded a bookshop and published numerous works including Duperrey's "Le voyage autour du monde" (Voyage around the world), thus becoming the official publisher of the Naval Ministry.
The two men, who had yet to make one another's acquaintance, were unaware that sixty years later, their families and businesses would come together to form Arthus-Bertrand.
© Arthus-Bertrand 2008