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| Henri Goegg registered (No. 3165) his trademark on 27 Aug 1890 at
the Federal Office of Intellectual Property in Bern, Switzerland. He opened
his office in Geneva in that year, and by 1892 operated from 5, Rue Chaponniere.
He advertised as, “The only house which has up to this time attained absolute
perfection in the reproduction of Swiss stamps. The reimpressions are printed
one at a time on plates carefully prepared, and on paper of the period
of the originals, which is deceiving to the eye of the greatest connoisseur
and most expert. All these stamps are cancelled.” He sold the Swiss Cantonals
singly or on cover. In 1893 he published a pamphlet that described the
differences between the originals and his facsimiles.
On 27 July 1894 Henri reregistered (No. 7004) his trademark under the name Louis-Henri Mercier, perhaps an adjustment to the French-speaking district of Geneva where he operated. His future price lists were issued in his new name. At the time it was not only legal to produce facsimile stamps, it was recognized by the philatelic community as a legitimate source of supply for collectors. At stamp exhibitions in St. Etienne in 1895, Nice in 1896, Marseilles in 1896 and 1897, Toulon in 1897, and Lyon in 1898, he received eight gold medals, among other honors, for the high quality of his work. Mercier has been credit with a facsimile of the 1895 issue of Ethiopia. The workmanship on these is noted for its crudeness, contrary to his reputation. Mercier was not a successful entrepreneur, and he went into bankruptcy soon after the turn of the century. François Fournier purchased his business in May 1904. |