Didier Nicolas

Didier Nicolas l'Aîné (1757, Mirecourt — 1833, Ibid.), or "the Elder," was a prolific French luthier, maker of violins and guitars based in Mirecourt. He learned the oeuvre and apprenticed with his father, Antoine Nicolas (fl. 1755–1780), a luthier from the nearby town of Mattaincourt. Didier was among the first Mirecourt luthiers to regularly participate in World's Fairs and other national or global trade exhibitions, winning the first prize in 1802 and the silver medal for his violin in 1806. Around 1810, Didier Nicolas adopted a new brand, A la ville de Cremonne — suggesting his instruments were on par with world-renowned Italian builds. Cremona, universally recognized as the cradle of "classical" Western luthiery, always served as the ultimate mark of the highest quality for violins, akin to "Swiss-made" in horology. Many Italian makers who originated from the city kept using labels like Cremonenſis fecit Mantuæ ("Cremonese, built for/in Mantua" in Latin) for their entire careers — see, for instance, Pietro Guarneri (1655—1720) and his cousin Pietro Guarneri II (1695—1762) in Venice. Some luthiers, like Tommaso Balestrieri (ca.1713/35—ca.1788/90) in Mantua, also embraced the "Cremonenſis fecit" inscription, even though most researchers agree that he likely never even been in Cremona. Nicolas, however, was the first non-Italian luthier to blatantly "expropriate" the Cremonese heritage, long pre-dating contemporary practice of "hype marketing" and "buzzwords" — i.e., unsubstantiated claims directly appealing to emotions. By the early 19th century, machine-stamped and engraved brands versus printed and glued internal typographic labels became fairly common. Nicolas, undoubtedly, put extra attention and thought into creating a striking, eye-catching layout for his pyramid-shaped trademark, centered around the circled 'DN' initials with A Lᴀ Vɪʟʟᴇ and Dᴇ Cʀᴇᴍᴏɴɴᴇ hovering above D. Nɪᴄᴏʟᴀꜱ ᴬᴵᴺᴱ below. While ensuring a lasting and recognizable legacy, the design also made it easily reproducible. Besides Didier's son, Joseph Nicolas (1796—1864), who inherited the slogan, many other Mirecourt luthiers soon began using "A la ville de Cremonne" brand, such as Joseph Charotte-Millot (1798—1849), Nicolas Florentin (1794—1839), Nicolas Morlot (1780—1856), Joseph Thiriot (ca.1750—1786), and Jean-Joseph Honoré (1794—1883). The next generation only further propagated the "Cremonese Ville" motto, including for mass-produced violins — starting with J-J Honoré's son, Justin Amedée Derazey (1839—1890), then Paul Mangenot (1862—1942), and, finally, Laberte-Humbert Frères firm.