Manufacturer

Information about the potential manufacturer:

HOULLIOT/COLLIGNON-HOULLIOT

The Collignon-Houlliot Company is a former French company located in the Marais District in Paris. Henri Isidore Houlliot, son-in-law of Louis Toussaint Tourly (1802-1869) who was a jeweller, inherited the Toussaint Company in 1866.

The original workshop was created by Mr. Tourly in 1826 and it primarily manufactured compasses. By 1870, the workshop's manufacturing included that of survey equipments. Mr. Houlliot was later succeeded by his son Albert Henri Houlliot.

The latter died in 1940 without any direct heirs so the company was passed on to his wife Marie Maynard Houlliot. Later, his nephew, Charles Louis Collignon, bought all the shares of Marie and her nephews who had been made her heirs. Mr. Collignon had been a soldier during World War II therefore the acquisition of the company took place only thereafter.

The name of the company was subsequently changed to "Société Collignon-Houlliot" in 1946. He was succeeded by his son Michel Collignon who joined him in the company in the late 1950s. Michel became the head of the company in the late 1960s and by the 1970s, the compass production at Collignon-Houlliot had come to a halt. 

Houlliot was the unnamed manufacturer of most compasses sold by major French companies like Société des Lunetiers (S-L), Vion, Secrétan, Topochaix, Huet, LAT (Les AccessoiresTopographiques), Morin etc. but he also exported his products in the whole world (UK, USA, Russia, Goerz and LUFFT in Germany).