Une Boîte en Or

At the National Printing House, traditional printing techniques are marvels of art: engraved punches, lithographs, soft-cut and typography produce books of rare quality. Four centuries of royal and republican documents, and a collection of punches of all alphabets is a unique heritage in the world. But subject to competition and technological developments, the institution will close its historic headquarters in 2005. With the participation of historians and book workers, the film accompanies the last moments of this place of excellence of the book trades where generations of monkeys, typographers and bears, printers followed one another.