The House of Jacques Villon - Germaine de Coster

Germaine de Coster was born in Paris in 1895. Gifted for drawing, she entered the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in 1912 and worked with Jules Chadel who was to be her master for engraving. At the same time she became interested in fabrics, sets and theater costumes. She became a professor of decoration at the City of Paris and then at the Technical College of Applied Arts of the Rue Duperré. As an engraver, she found herself attracted to the different elements of the book and in particular to its binding. She joined the Society of Decorative Artists, participated in the Salons by presenting bindings made by Hélène Dumas and became successively member of the committee, secretary and vice-president of this society. She also exhibited her work at the 1937 International Exhibition.
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