The book
Lecureux & Cie. — A Name from the Chalk.
A novel · Raphael Nagel & Marcus Köhnlein · Forthcoming 2026
A name out of the chalk.
The novel behind the maison. An antiquarian bookshop in Épernay. A forgotten 1834 champagne house. A search through the archives of Champagne. Written by Dr. Raphael Nagel and Marcus Köhnlein.
View the book →Available at raphaelnagel.com
The story behind the maison. An antiquarian's shop in Épernay. A family that moves between Colmar and Reims, between 1801 and 1944. A research trail running through the archives of the Champagne, through the registers of the Righteous Among the Nations, through the libraries of two continents.
It is the story of Eugène Lecureux, who left Alsace at twenty. It is the story of Jean-Baptiste and Esther, who filled the last cuvée in May 1940. It is the story of the mark on the back label.
Not a marketing text for a champagne. A narrative that stands on its own — and at the same time the only source that makes the revival of Lecureux & Cie. intelligible.
Hardcover · 320 pages · Garamond · 6×9″ · hand-laid endpaper · library binding