Papermaking in Eighteenth Century France. Management, Labor, and Revolution at the Montgolfier Mill 1761-1805.

-Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000-. First edition. xv+210 pages with index. Illustrated. Cloth. Fine in dustjacket. Eight years before the French Revolution, the paper mill at Vidalon-le-Haut was the setting for a bitter strike and successful lockout. This labour dispute, resulting from conflicts between master papermakers and skilled journeymen, ultimately benefited the mill's owners and administrators - the Montgolfier family. They converted the 1781 lockout into an opportunity to train a new kind of worker, a malleable employee, and to fashion a new sort of workplace, a theatre of technological experiment. This is a history of the workshop up, offering a comprehensive exploration of the historical experience of papermaking. Leonard N. Rosenband explains how paper was made and explores the many conflicts and compromises between masters and men. The Montgolfier archives are a rich source of information, providing records of daily output and procedures, including complex rules ranging from the precise hours of meals and prayer to matters of propriety and personal sanitation. They also provide insight into the attitudes of the Montgolfier family and their workers - what they made of their trade, their labour, and one another. This case study of the Montgolfier Mill, adding details about technological innovation and shopfloor relations during a time of social unrest, seeks to enrich the current debate about the nature and impact of capitalism in France during the years leading up to the French Revolution. Europe France Papermaking in Eighteenth Century France. Management, Labor, and Revolution at the Montgolfier Mill 1761-1805. boxed 0801863929