From Whence We Came Origins of Mass Production

From Whence We Came Origins of Mass Production History of Industrial design Lecture #1 Fall 2016 | INDS 110 C Adjunct: Troy Barber tbarber@ccsnh. edu

Rise of manufactories: • In Europe in the 1600 -1700’s, the lust for luxury goods by the various royal courts necessitated the formation of large stateowned production facilities known as “manufactories. ”

Gobelins Tapestry Manufactory: • Gobelins, south of Paris, was started in 1662 and ultimately employed 250+ workers in the production of tapestries and every class of furniture required in royal palaces.

• The most detailed tapestries were woven on high-warp looms. Gobelins Tapestry Manufactory • Original was hung behind the weavers. • Weavers reproduced what they saw in a mirror facing them which reflected the original. • The high-warp process was slower, more labor intensive and costlier, but resulted in tapestries of extraordinary quality that were enormously expensive. • Tapestries were more costly than master paintings and other fine arts.

Gobelins Tapestry Manufactory. . continued • Original artwork had to be expanded to monumental scale on the loom. • Michel-Eugene Chevreul, Director (1786 -1889) was one of the most respected color theorists and scientists of the 18 th Century. • Developed over 10 K+ vegetable dyes to approximate the almost unlimited palette of the painter.

Manufactory Work force: Many workers were fired from smaller, independent workshops that predated manufactories…and were members of guilds.

Guilds / Corps de métiers • Paid taxes to monarch or prince in exchange for exclusive rights to manufacturing and distribution. • Earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of tradesmen. • Very little division of labor with a guild, e. g different guilds existed for metalworkers such as farriers, knife-makers, locksmiths, chain-forgers, nail-makers, armourers were divided into helmet-makers, escutcheon-makers, harness-polishers, etc. • Worked under direction of a master trained in all aspects of a particular skills like furniture making, etc. • Organized in a manner something between a professional association, trade union, a cartel, and a secret society. • Depended on grants of letters patent by a monarch or other authority to enforce the flow of trade to their self-employed members.

Guilds / Corps de métiers (continued) • Masters owned or rented space from their patron and also acted as merchants for the sale of their goods. • Maintained high standards, reserved right to inspect manufactory product, enjoyed a monopoly on craft production. • Allowed monarchs to impose unity, control production, and reap the benefits of transparent structure and more efficient taxation • By 1750’s, changes afoot: Masters increasingly became retail merchants. • Responsible for original designs that they provided as models for manufactories. • Also, began to create catalogues illustrated with drawings of their wares to show to prospective clients.

Trickle-Down Aesthetics • "Trickle-down economics", also referred to as "trickle-down theory", is a populist political term used to characterize economic policies as favoring the wealthy or privileged, e. g. when the wealthy are well-off their spending will trickle down to the plebs, or commoners. • While the manufactories served only the elites, their massive overconsumption did require that productive capacity be continually expanded. • Only royalty could afford to build manufactories with their awesome startup costs for buildings, equipment, raw materials, administration, and labor. • Products not purchased by the royal courts often found other customers, either locally or abroad. • More goods, more money in circulation, more trade, and more customers.

Expansion and specialization • As scale of operations expanded, so too did the need to scale: – Greater volume – Greater efficiency – Specialization on core products and processes Goods from these manufactories needed to be produced in larger quantities and scales, but often required innovative use of different materials and processes to achieve those goals. Example: Gobelins tapestries were translated by workers from sketches and/or paintings originally executed by court painters.

Colbertism (not that one) • Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619 -1683), French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under King Louis XIV. – Called for the enrichment of France by commerce. – The state, through Colbert's directive (not merely regulatory) policies, fostered manufacturing enterprises in a wide variety of fields. – Authorities established new industries, protected inventors, invited in workmen from foreign countries, and prohibited French workmen from emigrating. – Founded Gobelins Tapestry Manufactory in 1662. – Issued more than 150 edicts to regulate guilds. Example: One edict declared that if the authorities found a merchant's cloth unsatisfactory on three separate occasions, they were to tie him to a post with the cloth attached to him. – Also provided state support to existing workshops in other regions of France that provided lower-quality goods.

Court Painters and Sculptors productized • Painters and Sculptors often served as directors of manufactories. • Charles Le Brun (1619 -1690) , Director of Gobelins and of the French Academy of Painting and Sculpture. – Declared by Louis XIV “…the greatest French artist of all time. “ – Directorships assured a unity of style and expression in all aspects of interior design. – Codified an ideal image project by monarchs and their courts that were their primary customers. – Top-down definition of what good design is and ought to be.

Denis Diderot (1713 -1784) Encyclopedie – Published between 1751 -1772 – Illustrated and documented the accumulated knowledge of the time – Labor and tools are becoming much more complex and specialized

Porcelain wares @ Meissen Manufactory • Production of porcelain in China began around 2, 000 years ago. • European courts began to crave Chinese porcelain as a luxury good after introduction in the mid-14 th Century (thanks, Marco Polo). • While many chemists tried to duplicate Chinese porcelain, it was only after a Jesuit priest Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles returned from China and published an expose on Chinese manufacturing processes that European manufactories began to produce their own porcelain in Meissen in 1710. **Fonthill vase is the earliest Chinese porcelain object to have reached Europe. It was a Chinese gift for Louis the Great of Hungary in 1338.

Porcelain wares @ Sevres Manufactory • Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis (1699 -1774), Chief Designer @ Sevres porcelain manufactory. – Designed extensive dinner services of plates, saucers, and cups for multicourse meals. – Display pieces such as candelabra and potpourri containers.

Complexity via Specialization • Dressing table or bureau may require a number of different crafts and/or suppliers. • Carved chassis created by carpenter. • Veneers and marquetry design required a woodworking specialist accomplished in using a variety of rare woods and inlay techniques. • Goldsmith or porcelain manufactory supplied gilt fittings or ceramic plates. • Other craftsmen supplied upholstery utilizing woven fabrics supplied by another manufactory. • Artisans also innovated mechanical functions, e. g. table with pop-up mirrors, etc.

Andre-Charles Boulle (1642 -1732) • Master cabinet maker who designed furniture and gilt fittings for Louis XIV and other royal patrons throughout Europe. • Many works were made to order for kings, et al. • An expanding catalogue of more basic types of furniture began to emerge. • Typologies of standard pieces: – – – Commodes Consoles Sofas Bergeres (an enclosed upholstered French armchair w/ upholstered back and armrests) Secretaries

Marchand Mercier: Merchant Dealers • Furniture dealer who acted as go-between customer and craftsmen. • Subcontracted commissions to several shops or coordinated the efforts of a number of master craftsmen to develop furniture. • Opened retail stores in the still-fashionable rue de St. Honore to display their wares. • Attracted customers by hanging shop signs outside their doors and hanging portraits of royal customers on their walls. • Translated a broad range of interrelated activities that included a variety of specialists, materials, and processes into goods that aligned with wealthy customer ideals re: beauty, comfort, display, practicality, and convenience. • Sound familiar?

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