Gautrot Aine & Cie

Pierre-Louis Gautrot started making musical instruments at home in 1827. His Brother in Law, Jean Auguste Guichard, started a company that industrially made musical instruments in the same year. Soon, they started working together.
In 1845, Guichard left the firm and sold it to Gautrot. He soon had offices in Londen, Madrid, Naples and New York.
From 1845, Adolphe Sax sued the company for copying his instruments. This ended in 1867 when Gautrot was fined 500.000 francs compensation.

In 1865 Jean-Baptiste Couesnon started working at the firm, while his brother Felix Couesnon, who was a banker, started to promote the interests of the company.

In 1869 the company took the name "Gautrot Ainé & Cie". The started to use different trade names: "Gautrot Marquet" for the 1st choice instruments and "Gautrot Breveté" for 2nd choice instruments. The logo was a stylized G and M in an oval.

In 1882, Gautrot died and left the company to his Son in Law, Amédée Couesnon (son of Felix). He renamed the company "Gautrot, Couesnon et Cie" and in 1888 he dropped "Gautrot" and the company became known as "Couesnon & Cie".