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Birth : 1910 in Mirecourt (Vosges) Death : 1987 in (Pyrénées)

Summary

Know as "CHARLEY"

Biography

Charles J.B. Leon Collin-Mezin became a luthier like his father and grandfather. Born in 1910, he began his apprenticeship in 1926. His father’s death in a car accident in 1934 let to the reorganization of the company, with Jean LARCHER taking over the shared management with Charles Leon, who at age 24 had only just completed his apprenticeship. This forced passage between the generations worked, enabling the company to continue its development. By 1936, the workshop had 8 luthiers, and business was brisk, particularly in the United States (1).

  The war years brought this prosperity to a halt. To survive, and keep the few remaining workers on the payroll, the workshop developed the manufacture of articulated wooden soles for shoes(2).

  The end of the Second World War saw an upturn in orders, and the years that followed bore witness to the company’s dynamism, particularly in exports.
To maintain attractive prices, divisions of labor were introduced, as well as the subcontracting of certain tasks, either in-house or outsourced, such as varnishing by Louis VIGNERON aka Le Zico, or the manufacturing of necks by Jean DELIGNON.(2)

   The decline in instrument making, which was widespread in France from the 1950’s onward, hit the MIRECOURT workshops hard. In 1952, Jean LARCHER returned to his former job as an engineer, and little by little the long-standing employees of the workshop were forced to leave the company. By 1954, only three remained, Eugène GUINOT, Robert BAUMAN, and Charles Leon(1).

 COLLIN-MEZIN closed for good in 1960 with Eugene GUINOT retiring at the same moment in time.

 

Workshop
7, rue Germini à MIRECOURT

Collaborators
AUDINOT Paul
BAUMANN René, spécialiste des contrebasses.
DELPRATO Jean, Luthier, de 1949 à 1951
EULRY Jules-François, contremaître, quitte en 1953.
EULRY Charles
EULRY René
GRANGER Michel, luthier jusqu'en 1951
GUINOT Eugène, jusqu'en 1960
JEANDAT Emile
JEANDEL Ernest
LOTTE Michel, luthier, en 1948 et 1949
TETERTIENNE Charles

Awards and medals
- 1944 Grand prix de Lorraine à Nancy
- 1951 Hors concours et membre du jury à l’exposition artisanale d’Epinal

Sources
(1) - Roland. Terrier, La dynastie Collin-Mezin, Les colloques historiques du musée de la lutherie, Mai 2000
(2) - (Didier J. 1997)



 

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