Francois-Louis Schmied painter, wood-engraver, printer, illustrator and French book binder of Swiss origin, was born in Geneva in 1873 and died in Morocco in 1941. At the age of 17 he entered the School of Industrial Arts of Geneva and 5 years later, moved to Paris to complete his training at the Ecole Estienne. A major artist of the Art Deco style from c.1915 through the decades of the 1920’s and 30’s. Exhibited at the Georges Petit Gallery and the Gallery Charpentier with a group of artists including Jean Dunand, Jean Goulden and Paul Jouve. Best known for his coloured wood-engravings to illustrate luxury works requiring years of work for each title.