École Estienne

In 1887 the anthropologist and linguist Abel Hovelacque proposed that the city of Paris should create a municipal school of arts and professional printing for industry.

In November 1889 the school opened with 108 students in temporary premises on rue Vauquelin.

Its vocation was to address the poor qualifications and standards of printing and book-making, covering theoretical and practical aspects.

The main building was designed by architect Menjot Dammartin and built in 1896.

The frame of the machine shop (1200 m2) was built by the Gustave Eiffel workshops in Levallois-Perret.