ALKAN, ALPHONSE

ALKAN, ALPHONSE (1809–1889), French printer and author. Born in Paris, Alkan worked as a printer, but also wrote for printing and bibliographical magazines. He later became secretary to the comte de Clarac, keeper of the Museum of Antiquities in the Louvre. There he was also able to exercise his knowledge of printing by acting as a proofreader. Alkan wrote several books on printing and its history, including Les Etiquettes et leurs Inscriptions des Boîtes – Volumes de Pierre Jannet, Fondateur de la Bibliothèque Elzévirienne (1883), Un Fondeur en Caractères, Membre de l'Institut (1886), and Les Quatre Doyens de la Typographie Parisienne (1889). Other significant books by Alkan dealt with bibliography. (John M. Shaftesley)