Émile-Auguste Ouchard (1900 – 1969)

The son of famed Mirecourt archetier Émile François Ouchard, Émile-Auguste (1900-1969) trained under his father at the Cuniot-Hury workshop from the age of thirteen and continued to work with him when Ouchard père opened his own atelier in 1923. Ouchard’s collaboration with his father proved fruitful, both creatively and financially, and in 1937, he took over the family firm. However, as his style began to distinguish itself from his father’s and tension between the two increased, Ouchard left to open up his own Parisian workshop in 1938. He perfected a mature model marked by thick, strong heads and Hill underslides, winning the Grand Prix at the 1942 International Paris Exhibition.

After World War II, Ouchard moved to New York, collaborating with Lazare Rudié but also continuing to produce under his own brand. He eventually took an exclusive position with William Lewis & Son in Chicago in 1948, although he returned to New York two years later. In 1960, Ouchard came home to France, but a stroke negatively affected the quality of his work in his final years. Ouchard’s stamps changed to reflect the different stages of his career, including “E.A. Ouchard Fils,” “E.A. Ouchard Paris,” “Émile A. Ouchard New York,” and “Émile A. Ouchard.”