The Purple Monster From Sesame Street

[This message was actually intended for my daily column. I therefore duplicates there, waiting to post here a few nautical mishaps recently found in the archives.]

day seminar all day tomorrow on the theme: "what place to work in the industrial heritage? "I love the question, although in this case I would have preferred to keep the program "How to kick ass Premier haughty." Well, at worst, I sneak away for an hour or two to go pounding the pavement and I will return. But seriously, the question is interesting, in this era where everything becomes heritage at risk of turning the country into a vast museum. Obviously, one can ask the question another way: the heritage in question is there still anything to industrial since it is no longer a place of work?

A factory on the banks of the Somme, A mine in May 2005.

Let me be clear. I was one of those that the destruction of factories in Billancourt put pissed off, because the city want to delete all traces of production activities, it is not healthy. There is a tendency to hide the industry, something a little dirty, away from the city, trying to forget about it - our eco-friendly Parisians, who design their alleged traffic plans disregard artisans and industrial who still produce things in their hands, is also a variety of phenomenon.

But on the other hand, if these buildings become, as is often the case, n-th place socio-cultural, official or not (the refrigerators to Paris, the foundry at Le Mans, Le Lieu Unique in Nantes ...), do not you do much the same thing by diverting the direction, leaving behind those walls that were there for a purpose and that goal was an industrial activity? These buildings

deserts or socio-culturalized, not industry, is a fossil of industry - because a real industrial site, it changes all the time. We built a new studio here, where we install the machine tool recently delivered, and we need to get trains there, and then we will increase the height of the chimney ... It turns out that for my paper, I study a workshop especially a particular plant. This building still exists and is the oldest of the plant. I did incidentally Preview, and have never been able to photograph: the plant, built for the naval guns in 1753, is now preparing to arm the new class of frigates that Franco-Italian announced last winter - top secret, no pictures. What is certain is that the building in question, called today Casters, he is long gone, has repeatedly changed functions without ever having exactly all those destined to him. That is an industrial site alive. How think in terms of heritage there?

One of these days I'll explain how, by failure to develop the industry as the subject of a story, they killed one of the oldest societies of non-ferrous France. The Pen

salute you.

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Nantes, flour and coal-fired boilers

As I said earlier , I just drew a blank at the National Archives, at least on what I was looking for. Because it is a little problem: there is always something in the archives, except to put the utmost reluctance. The trick is how to help focus these findings more than a few seconds - otherwise we would not come out.

On the other hand, it is not a historian if you're not curious, and if we stumbled upon the plans of a strange one which had never heard of, it would be a shame not not look more closely.

But then, after these preliminary laborious, I return to my title: What can we do well at Nantes in 1785 with flour and coal stoves? A bit early for either of Choco BN, even a little early for breakfast Lu (the specialist will give us no doubt the date of invention). Add the enigma that this property should be directed to the use of the Royal Navy. Mystery and gumdrop.

If I had not had the plans, I would not have been more advanced than that. But there is a letter, entitled "ovens flour" and signed by a certain Millet, Nantes, April 22, 1785, he is a legend, titled as follows:

PLAN an oven with three floors each floor having two rows of shelves which are common flours or grains you want to do dry.

I like the titles of the eighteenth century, it has another face that American Vertigo or I do not know what nonsense. That said, the documents tell us what it is, but not really what's the point. They teach us that the Boilers (located on ground floor) can provide a temperature of 60-70 degrees (Reaumur, I suppose - or 75 to 88 ° C) in pipes; oven is the only way flour 24; more than these stoves can be run "with coals that would be a big enough economy." We further explained that:

side A & side B show that close and open lanes at will by which the steamed flour will go to the floor of the first floor designed by Marks joists, & when it is cooled it will descend by the traps in the shops on the ground floor to be embarillée.

Ha ha! Here we are. Clear at once that the term does not designate an oven in this context humid heat but maintained a moderate heat for a considerable time. And now we understand: flour, rather it keeps evil - that's why we kept the traditional wheat grain, making it the grind As they were needed. But on a boat, there is no mill: therefore, we must take the flour. So the packaging in sealed barrels. So it is completely dry when you put it in a box, otherwise the remedy will be worse than the disease.

is where it becomes the story and not just a funny document. Western civilization had somehow developed a number of practices to help stretch food to eat all year - but these practices do not meet the needs specific long-term sea voyage. And suddenly, the modern conservation techniques appear (except of course those that are related to the cold chain): tin cans, that is covered with a tin coating, for example, and even soup tablets: a document of 1783 is concerned there are 4000 to Rochefort threatens to lapse.

A note: Nantes is clearly an important focus for these activities: in addition to this facility (which I do not know if it was done), there are very important early tinplate. An idle question: Is this the origin of the vocation of Nantes biscuit that we mentioned earlier?

On study day "technical systems" of March 4, Francis Sigaut regret that we do not make the history of the corkscrew. That is already a beginning of the history of flour box.

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Monks and usefulness Marine

I mentioned recently Lighthouse Pointe Saint-Mathieu and his monastery, a young reader Rome (Italy) was even observed that "We used to pray against shipwrecks, now, we light the lights." If I think a document that I fell the other day in the archives looking for something else, it does stop there:

National Archives, funds navy veterans, B 2 390

This is the copy on record of a dispatch sent by the Minister of Marine in La Roche -Amon, Archbishop of Rheims and chairman of the board regulars - Committee appointed by Louis XV in 1766 following the wishes of the archbishop of Toulouse, Lomenie de Brienne, to reform the French regular clergy. Transcript for those paleography in miniature on screen does not try:

M. Duke Archbishop of Rheims.
has Versaille February 10, 1769.

The account given to me, sir, any kind of relief that people [scratched: the Crew] sea rescued from the wreck of the King's Gabarre Dorothy who was lost to Point St. Mathieu fired Religious [scratched: Abbey] the monastery of that name you undertake to observe that their home is its location in the most useful in cases of this kind, and that eliminating it is threatened, since it is unfounded can maintain the number of religious demands that the King in each monastery, would be regarded as an unfortunate event for all seafarers If you think, sir, that this consideration may be excepted from the general rule the house in question, I Seray much obliged to propose conservation and kindly inform me of the party be taken in this regard.

I have the honor of being the most perfect attachment, Sir, yours & c.

few notes: First, it ignores the nature of the relief it is. The monks have they rolled up their clothes to go fish the sea? Or did they merely offer a first step in their prayer and a second hot wine? I would not delve into the archives of the Finistère département (who probably collected the archives of the said monastery, in the end) to see that. Second remark: after a few years (1782 I think), we decided to build a lighthouse there, which leaves pener that the request was not heard. If indeed it was written for be heard, or simply to please the prior of the house in question.

course, all this has absolutely nothing to do with the subjects mind. Anyway, since I had it on hand ...

( And in other news: samples sent by a doctor Tréguier the Department of the Navy in 1786 was not really marble. Tréguier From marble, must say, it would have been a scoop. )