In 1851, Joseph Lemercier founded Lemercier et Compagnie, the most important printing company in Paris between 1850 and 1870. In 1887, his nephew Alfred took over the publishing house. The company printed the plates for Emile Prisse d’Avennes’ book *L’art arabe d’après les monuments du Kaire depuis le VIIe* *siècle jusqu’à la fin du XVIIIe*, 1877.