A Toulouse Printing Dynasty, Between Lithography and the Belle Époque

In Toulouse, on rue de la Colombette, one name still resonates with collectors of scripophily: Sirven. Founded in 1834 by Bernard Sirven (1813-1886), the company first made its name in lithography before diversifying into bookbinding, stitching, cardboard production, and school and office supplies. The company even owned its own cardboard factory.

It was under this momentum that the printing house produced some of the finest advertising posters of the Belle Époque, several of them illustrated by Alphonse Mucha, the undisputed master of Art Nouveau. Owning a Sirven certificate means holding a fragment of that graphic exuberance that marked the turn of the 20th century.

Joseph Sirven, Mayor of Toulouse and a Key Figure in the Birth of La Dépêche du Midi

The founder’s son, Joseph Sirven (1835-1905), took over the family business. A public figure, he became Mayor of Toulouse from 1884 to 1888. But it was an earlier episode that truly cemented the Sirven name in the history of the French press: during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Joseph and his brother Joseph-François kept the printing presses running to publish dispatches from the front, allowing soldiers’ wives to follow news of their loved ones. This initiative is regarded as the founding act of the newspaper La Dépêche du Midi, today one of France’s largest regional daily newspapers.

Gaston Sirven and the Birth of an Empire: Lajaunie Cachous

The story takes an unexpected turn with Gaston Sirven (1895-1957), grandson of Joseph and son of Henri (1863-1918). In 1904, he acquired from Léon Lajaunie the exploitation rights to a small licorice pastille designed to combat bad breath: the Lajaunie cachou. Under the Sirven family’s direction, the manufacturing of metal tins became a business in its own right, and the Lajaunie cachou established itself as a staple of French grocery stores, a status it still holds today.

Gaston’s son, Alfred Sirven, born in 1927, would later turn to other pursuits, gradually marking the end of the family’s industrial adventure in printing.

Securities of Rare Artistic Value: The Luigi Loir Signature

From a scripophily standpoint, what sets the certificates of the Société Anonyme B. Sirven apart is their exceptional graphic quality. The certificates are adorned with artwork by Luigi Loir, a painter renowned for his Parisian scenes and attention to detail. A series was even printed in color : a rarity in the world of French antique securities, where black and white overwhelmingly dominates.

These elements : family history, a link to a newspaper still in circulation today, a connection to a century-old confectionery brand, and high-quality illustration, make the Sirven printing company one of the most sought-after names among collectors interested in the Toulouse region and the printing/press sector.