When was the printer Oliveau & Fils graveur in Bordeaux in operation?

February 17, 2013 5:09 PM

I have an olive oil label printed in France by A. Oliveau & Fils graveur in Bordeaux for a grocery store or outfit in Mexico City, Cia. Abarrotera. The label looks like it is from the very early 1900s. I would like to know when Cia. Abbarrotera and/or A. Oliveau & Fils graveur was in operation.
posted by kirsti to Society & Culture (10 answers total)

Best answer: Oliveau et fils were in business for a long time, I fear, between 1825 and 1952 (or 55, can't tell). Source.
posted by Spanner Nic at 5:48 PM on February 17, 2013

Compañía Abarrotera is an almost generic name, it means Grocery Company. I found several companies with a similar name in various cities in Mexico. Do you have an address?
posted by clearlydemon at 9:01 PM on February 17, 2013

Response by poster: Sorry. I forgot to give the full name. It is Cia. Abarrotera "El Cisne". No address is given.
posted by kirsti at 9:07 PM on February 17, 2013

Response by poster: One other thing: "SenC" appears after "El Cisne". I assume it designates the type of company, as in the case of Inc. or LLC.
posted by kirsti at 6:53 AM on February 18, 2013

Best answer: "A. Oliveau" is "Amédée Oliveau."

According to this site, Amédée's father founded the business in 1825 and as a printer in 1829. Amédée was the older son and took over in 1844. It looks like the business changed ownership in 1952, when a M. Charruey took over. There are a few things printed by the company from the early 1900s for sale on the internet. The company is still, it seems, in existence under the name "Imprimerie Charruey". [Imprimerie = printer]. There is a dedicated website for Imprimerie Oliveau with examples dating up to 1958. The website's WHOIS points to Imprimerie Charruey.

You can find a list of printers in Bordeaux through the 19th century here, should you be interested.
posted by MuffinMan at 9:12 AM on February 18, 2013

Response by poster: Muffinman, Merci bien pour ces précisions et pour le lien au site de l’Imprimerie Charruey et celui à la liste des imprimeurs. Il reste maintenant à déterminer la période de l’exploitation de la Compania Abarrotera “El Cisne”. Cordialement
posted by kirsti at 9:52 AM on February 18, 2013

I found somebody who is selling some commercial letters from "Compañía Abarrotera El Cisne", dated 1921.

I also found some legal information (automatic translation to English) that mention "El Cisne", from 1936.
posted by clearlydemon at 7:17 PM on February 19, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks for your post. I'm familiar with the commercial letters on Todocoleccion (I spotted them a few days ago). That's a good start. As for the legal information, does it concern the Compania Abarrotera "El Cisne" (in Mexico City)? I don't see this name as such at the site in question. Did I miss something when I visited that site? Thanks again! My final goal is to determine when this company was established and when it closed its doors. I suspect that this information is not going to be easy to get.
posted by kirsti at 7:51 PM on February 19, 2013

The second link seems to be a legal precedent, based on a legal dispute in which "El Cisne" was involved. It mentions "El Cisne", S. en C. (which, as you mention, is like LLC). It might not be the same company.

I live in Mexico City, but I have no idea where to find the records for such an old company, sorry.
posted by clearlydemon at 1:08 PM on February 20, 2013

Response by poster: Hi Clearlydemon, I would assume that such records could be found in Mexico's national archives, but it is probably not worth all the time, effort and perhaps money to track them down. I do appreciate all of your input. Gracias!
posted by kirsti at 5:44 PM on February 20, 2013