PARIS, ETC.

CHAP. IX.

ROYAL MANUFACTORIES, MARKETS, SLAUGHTER-HOUSES, ETC.

ROYAL MANUFACTORIES.

MANUFACTURE ROYALE DES GOBELINS.-From the fourteenth century dyers of wool have been established in the faubourg Saint Marcel, upon the Bièvre, the water of that river being accounted favourable to the process of dyeing. One of them, named Jean Gobelin, who lived in 1450, amassed considerable wealth, and possessed much property on the banks of that stream. Philibert his son, and Denise Lebret his wife, followed the same occupation, augmented their fortune, and left to their children considerable possessions, which were divided in 1510, and consisted of ten houses, with gardens, lands, etc. Their successors continued to labour with success, and

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gave celebrity to the name of Gobelin, which the public applied to the quarter where their establishment was situated, and even to the river Bièvre which ran through it. The family of Gobelin having become very rich renounced the profession of dyers, and filled various offices in the magistracy, the treasury, and the army.

To the Gobelins succeeded Messrs. Canaye, who did not confine themselves to the dyeing of wool, but began to manufacture tapestry. About 1655, they were succeeded by a Dutchman named Glucq, and a workman named Jean Liansen, who excelled in the art. The beauty of the articles sent from this manufactory attracted the attention of Colbert, who resolved to place it under the special protection of the king. For that purpose he purchased, in 1662, all the houses and gardens which at present form the site of the manufactory, and erected work-shops and extensive buildings for the residence of the skilful artists whom he induced to join the establishment, over which, in 1667, the celebrated Lebrun was appointed director.

The buildings of this manufactory present nothing remarkable; they seem to have been erected without a plan, at different periods, and to have been added to each other as necessity required. Several rooms or galleries are ornamented with figures in plaster, pictures, and ancient and modern tapestry. The work-rooms are four in number, and contain pieces of tapestry in different states of forwardness. The workman, placed behind the canvas on which he is employed, has his back turned towards the model, to which he occasionally refers, in order to compare the colour of his yarn with that part of the picture he is copying.

Connected with this manufactory are an establishment for dyeing the yarn, a drawing-school in which the princi

ples of the art are taught, and an annual course of lectures upon chemistry as applicable to dyeing.

Formerly works of this kind were confined to Flanders, where the celebrated pieces of tapestry after Raphael's Cartoons were executed; but at present there is no manufactory equal to that of the Gobelins, the reputation of which is spread over all Europe.

MANUFACTURE ROYALE DE LA SAVONNERIE.

-This ma

nufactory is established at Chaillot, upon the bank of the

In

Carpets are made here

1604 it was created a

Seine, fronting the quai de Billy. in imitation of those of Persia. royal establishment by Marie de Médicis, in favour of Pierre Dupont, who invented the process for finishing the carpets, and who was placed at its head with the title of director. Simon Lourdet succeeded him in 1626. The works executed under the direction of both gave such satisfaction, that they obtained letters of noblesse.

The workshops of this manufactory were at first established at the Louvre, but, by command of Louis XIII., they were transferred in 1615 to a house at Chaillot, called de la Savonnerie, because savon (soap) had been formerly made there. It received a new organization in 1663, under the ministry of Colbert, but fell afterwards into a languishing state and was nearly abandoned, when, in 1713, the duke d'Antin, director of the royal edifices and manufactories, repaired the buildings and restored the activity of the manufactory. Upon a black marble tablet over the door the period of this restoration was inscribed.

The chapel de la Savonnerie, which was very plain, was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Over its porch was the following very singular inscription:

La très-auguste MARIE DE MÉDICIS, mère de Louis XIII, pour avoir, par sa charitable munificence, des couronnes au ciel comme en la terre par ses mérites, a établi ce lieu de charité, pour y être reçus,

alimentés, entretenus et instruits, les enfans tirés des hôpitaux, des pauvres enfermés; le tout à la gloire de Dieu, l'an de grâce 1615.

This is the only establishment of the kind in France. The pieces manufactured here are placed perpendicularly, like the tapestry de haute lice; but with this difference, that in the latter the workman is placed on the wrong side, whilst at the Savonnerie he has before him the right, as in tapestry de basse lice.

The largest carpet ever made is probably that manufactured at la Savonnerie for the gallery of the Louvre. It consists of seventy-two pieces, forming altogether a length of more than thirteen hundred feet.

MANUFACTURE ROYALE DES GLACES.-The art of manufacturing mirrors was introduced into France by Eustache Grandmont and Jean Antoine d'Anthonneuil, to whom an exclusive privilege for ten years was granted by letters-patent, dated August 1, 1634. In March, 1640, this privilege was ceded by the patentees to Raphael de la Planche, treasurer-general of the royal edifices. The undertaking being merely a financial speculation, continued in a languishing state till 1666, when Colbert created it a royal manufactory, and erected the spacious premises which it at present occupies in the rue de Reuilly, faubourg Saint Antoine.

Previous to the formation of this establishment, the finest mirrors possessed by France were brought from Venice; but in a short time the glasses of Paris greatly excelled those of Venetian manufacture in size and beauty. All the glass employed in the formation of mirrors was blown until 1559, when a Frenchman, named Thevart, discovered the art of casting it, which process was carried to a high degree of perfection in 1688, by M. Lucas de Nehon. The art of polishing the glass was invented by Rivière Dufresny, to whom, as a reward for his discovery,