Exhibition: ‘LU: A Century of Innovation (1846-1957)’, Nantes

Attention foodies! The Nantes History Museum at the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne is opening an exhibition on the family history of the LU biscuit company, to which we owe the famous Petit-Beurre and Petit Écolier. Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exhibition will now take place from June 27 to January 3, 2021.

Some are dunked, some are crunched. Whichever way it’s eaten, the Petit-Beurre biscuit – one of the iconic biscuits of the LU brand, alongside the Petit Écolier – has stood the test of time since its creation in Nantes in 1846.

The Nantes History Museum at the Château des Ducs de Bretagne is a real monument to the heritage of the French snack. Through a vast collection of objects, drawings and paintings – some of which have never been seen by the general public – the exhibition retraces a century of innovation and creation from 1846, when the Petit-Beurre was invented, to 1957 and the birth of the famous LU logo designed by Raymond Loewy.

Visitors will learn about LU, the family baking brand founded by Jean-Romain Lefèvre and Pauline-Isabelle Utile, and taken over in 1883 by the visionary Louis Lefèvre-Utile who developed the brand’s promotion.

Find out more about the design of the biscuits, their packaging (and the birth of packaging), product marketing, advertising and the company’s collaborations with great contemporary artists including Alphonse Mucha and Firmin Bouisset.

Interestingly, the exhibition also highlights the role of women in the world of work, as well as the use of their image in advertising.

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Practical
info 

Château des ducs de Bretagne – Musée d’histoire de Nantes, 4 place Marc Elder, 44000 Nantes
Late June/early July to January 3, 2021 (dates to be confirmed).
Full rate: 8 euros - Discounted rate: 5 euros.

Getting to Château des ducs de Bretagne in Nantes