Edmondo Chappuis moved from France to Bologna, Italy, as a young man. In 1897, at the age of 22, he opened a lithography business in Via Cartolerie 13 in Bologna. Concentrating on this new technology to create color prints in large dimensions, Chiappuis was a visionary entrepreneur whose rapid success was such that his small firm entered in direct competition with the Milanese Ricordi. 

Chiappuis hired a number of young artists who specialized in creating stunning posters and commercial advertisements in the Art Nouveau Style.  Such artists and illustrators included Marcello Dudovich, Galileo Chini, Adolfo Hohenstein, Giovanni Maria Mataloni, Adolfo De Carolis, Plinio Nomellini, Aleardo Terzi, and Duilio Cambellotti. 

Edmondo Chappuis committed suicide at the age of 38, in 1912.