Ferdinand Barbédienne (1810-92) was apprenticed at the age of twelve to a wall paper manufacturer and by 1834 had become one of the most successful wall paper manufacturers in Paris. In 1838 he entered into partnership with Achille Collas (1795-1858) who, two years before, had invented a machine which applied the principles of a diagraph and the pantograph to the reproduction and reduction of sculpture in relief and in the round. Barbédienne started a new career as a bronze founder. His new firm, under the name Collas & Barbédienne, specialised in antique reproductions and developed new processes for patinations and coloured bronzes. Their exhibit at the London Exhibition of 1851, which included, reduced to half the size, a reproduction of Ghiberti’s principal door for the Baptistery in Florence, brought them universal acclaim, and thereafter, their success was assured. In the latter part of the 19th century the firm of Barbédienne became France’s leading manufacturer of artistic bronzes.