Barometers Realm

According to the price list (Prix-courant des baromètres anéroïdes) of the firm S. Guichard & Cie, dated around 1880, the manufacturer referred to itself as the “successor to Lucien Vidie, the inventor of the aneroid barometer.” According to this document, the company specialized in the production of aneroid barometers (both fixed and portable), manometers, hydrometers, thermometers, and large public barometers. Members of the Alpine Club of France and the French Scientific Association were offered a 25% discount. Subsequently, the manufacturer partnered with the company Lion fils, known for producing barometers and thermometers, under the name Lion & Guichard.

Felix Lion was a Parisian instrument maker of the third quarter of the 19th century, operating at 146, Faubourg St Denis, Paris. He was renowned for producing Tremeschini’s mono-metallic thermometer. This instrument’s design included a thin platinum plate that expanded when heated, causing mechanical deflection of a needle on the dial.

The partnership Lion et Guichard appeared in the list of awardees of the Médaille de mérite (Medal of Merit) at the Vienna World’s Fair in 1873.

The company Lion et Guichard, a French manufacturer of aneroid barometers, was located at 8 Rue Rocroy in Paris, the former site of Lucien Vidie’s workshop. In 1863, Vidie transferred his production and the rights to the term “aneroid” to Breguet, which later sold its watchmaking division to its manager, Mr. Brown. In 1870, Breguet sold its barometer division to Lion et Guichard. The company subsequently operated under the name Guichard for a time before disappearing from the market.