Handmade. When Grenoble gloved the world is the title of the new temporary exhibition at the Musée dauphinois in Grenoble. More than 40 years after the one entitled The hand of the glover, which was a landmark, particularly in terms of its duration – from 1978 to 1986-, it revives the memory of one of the great manufacturing activities of Grenoble and Isère until the middle of the 20th century.
Between 1850 and 1930, Grenoble was one of the most important production basins in the world of women’s luxury gloves. Made from goatskin, the breeding of which is developing in the mountain pastures of the surrounding mountains and even beyond to meet demand, it is an essential element of clothing for women of good society (lamb , thinner, is reserved for men’s gloves, a specialty of the town of Millau).
From the Belle Epoque until the 1940s, tens of thousands of people worked in this activity, which went from the artisanal stage to the industrial scale, with the invention in the 1830s of the iron hand by glovemaker Xavier Jouvin . This is a size and shape cookie cutter that can cut out six gloves at a time. A period copy is presented in the exhibition.
For a century, one out of two families in Grenoble and the surrounding area made a living from glove-making, the main economic activity in Isère for several decades. Seamstresses and cutters from Italy, initially from Milan or Naples, will come to reinforce the workforce in response to the need for labor in this flourishing industry. Among them, the future founders of handcrafted gloves, whose heirs will be the guardians of the temple.
In the 19th century, glovemakers were among the notables of the city, often occupying important positions in local political life. Several of them will become mayors of Grenoble, such as Ernest Calvat, Edouard Rey or Stéphane Jay.
During its golden age, the Grenoble glove, a real second skin, was exported all over the world. “Grenoble glove-makers, like Perrin and Jouvin, sell their products in the shops of the most beautiful avenues in the world, in Paris as in New York”, recalls Olivier Cogne, director of the Dauphinois Museum which keeps hundreds of pairs. of gloves in his reserves.
The idea of an exhibition to show them to the public and to (re)discover its history at the departmental museum was launched in 2017. The last generations of Grenoble residents do not measure the importance of glove making in the capital of Alps, where only one house remains – the Lesdiguières-Barnier glove factory – and a building enjoying a second life.
“Its role is also little known in the emergence of other industries when glove-making begins to decline with the change in clothing habits under the effect of the emancipation of women or even competition from Asia”, underlines Olivier Cogne, also curator of the exhibition. From the 1930s, glove-making diversified into lingerie, like Perrin who founded Valisère (bought in 1990 by the Swiss Triumph) or converted into real estate. Their suppliers evolve de facto, like Albert Raymond, the inventor of the press stud for gloves. The family group has established itself as one of the world leaders in assembly and fastening systems for the automotive, healthcare and agricultural sectors.
Handmade. When Grenoble gloved the world involves many players, including the Association for the Protection and Promotion of Gloves in Grenoble and the Lesdiguières-Barnier glove factory, a merger of two former companies by Jean Strazzeri, one of the last master glove-makers in France. The Dauphinois Museum also asked Audrey Colonel-Coquet, a doctoral student in contemporary history at the University of Grenoble-Alpes. She is completing a thesis directed by the historian Anne Dalmasso on the history of Grenoble glove-making, from the Revolution to the present day. The two historians, who co-authored the book accompanying the exhibition (Glénat), have also just completed the manuscript of a Dictionary of glovers and glovemakers. They are looking for funding to publish this tool of knowledge and understanding of a specific universe, both laborious and glamorous. We bet that this route with its scenography inspired by the world of theater and fashion will attract visitors with a patron spirit!
Until March 23, 2023, every day except Tuesday. Free admission. Several activities around the exhibition, including guided tours with demonstrations of glove making with the Association for the Protection and Promotion of Gloves in Grenoble and the Lesdiguières-Barnier glove factory.
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