Firmin Gillot

Firmin Gillot (11 October 1819 Combres, France – 11 June 1872 Paris) was a French printmaker (engraver) and inventor.

[1] At the start of the 19th century, a technique gained popularity that involved transferring a drawing onto a lithographic stone from a special paper coated with a mix of starch and gelatin.

This method, called autographic transfer, allowed artists to easily reproduce their drawings.

This breakthrough made it easier to reproduce intricate illustrations alongside text in publications, making it a precursor to the image printing we see today in books and newspapers.

Gillot's workshop was on this street; although, from 1863 to 1877, it was named rue Fondary, of Vaugirard, a former French commune that was annexed by Paris June 16, 1859.