The GHM foundry in Sommevoire (Haute-Marne) now specialises in urban lighting and furniture. 150 years ago, religious and animal statuary in bronze represented the bulk of its activity. Antoine Durenne (1822-1895), the founder of the foundry, did not hesitate to call on well-known artists such as Hector Guimard, the champion of Art Nouveau and the creator of the Paris metro entrances, or Auguste Bartholdi, to whom we owe, in particular, the Statue of Liberty and the Lion of Belfort. The techniques for making cast iron used in the 19th century have not changed much today.