Émile-Allain Séguy was a prominent designer of ornamental motifs in the 1920s. Aiming for the profession of decorator, he studied at the School of Decorative Arts, began by practicing embossed leather and bookbinding and published albums of ornaments from 1902. At first, he was influenced by the Art Nouveau style and, from 1913 to 1924, he worked as artistic director of the department store Le Printemps, where he was responsible for designing catalogs and shop windows. This job sheltering him from need, he was able to devote himself, after demobilization, to the creation of ornamental designs. He designed several repertoires of patterns intended for manufacturers of textiles, carpets and wallpapers, including the collections Suggestions for fabrics and carpets (1924) and Bouquets and foliage (1925), which contributed to the development and dissemination of the Art style. deco.
Séguy was very successful at this time and worked for Lyon fabric publishers and wallpaper manufacturers. He exhibited his creations (wallpapers, fabrics, bindings) at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925 and received several awards there. Thereafter, he designed more naturalistic albums like Papillons (1925), the first part of which includes realistic and detailed representations of exotic butterflies in shimmering colors. He was inspired by these natural shapes and colors to design application models reproduced in the second part of the book, harmonious compositions mixing bold color combinations. Aware of the need to pass on his know-how to younger generations, he held the position of professor of decorative composition at the École Estienne. After the decline of the Art Deco style, he put his talent at the service of the seed company Vilmorin, for whom he designed flower boards intended to illustrate catalogs and seed packets.
