. He was born François-Joseph-Charles Salabert in
Paris. His father, Edouard Salabert (1838-1903), started the publishing business Éditions Salabert in the
rue de la Victoire in 1878, initially to publish
martial music, and acquired the rights to the
marches of
John Philip Sousa. However, Edouard became incapacitated through illness, and in 1901 Francis took over running the company at the age of 16. In 1908 he moved the business to rue Chauchat, and began expanding it to include the repertoires of composers and writers of light music, including
Henri Christiné,
Reynaldo Hahn,
Aristide Bruant,
Maurice Yvain,
Vincent Scotto,
Georges Van Parys, and, later,
Charles Trenet. For Christiné's successful
operetta Phi-Phi in 1919, Salabert devised a system for displaying the song's words above the theatre stage, so that the audience could sing along. During Salabert's lifetime, Éditions Salabert also acquired the rights to publish such important works as
Arthur Honegger's ''
Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' (first privately printed, then published by them in reduction in 1939) and the same composer's
first and
second symphonies (published by them in 1930 and 1942), for example. Salabert died in December 1946, aged 62, in a
plane crash on the approach to
Shannon Airport,
Ireland. His widow Mica continued to run the business. ==Notes==