Asnières-sur-Seine circa 1860
Situated in the northwest of Paris, in a tranquil neighbourhood on the banks of the Seine, Asnières beckoned to travellers in the 1860s: not just Sunday strollers and boating aficionados, but also industrials seeking a strategic location. It was in the context of this economic and demographic growth that Louis Vuitton decided to open his workshops in 1860.
ORIGINS
The name Asnières appears in archives as early as the 13th century, but human settlement in the area dates back to antiquity. The first country houses were built here under Louis XV.
Asnières officially became Asnières-sur-Seine on 1 December 1918.
Crowned with a wall of three golden towers
Three thistle flowers representing food for the donkeys of the town of Asinaria, the former name of Asnières, which translates into “donkey ranch” in Latin
The boat is a symbol of the Seine and the boating activity of Asnières
Two leopards crowned with gold, the symbol of the arms of the Earls of Argenson, lords of Asnières
THE PARIS-ASNIÈRES LINE
Thanks to the extension of the greater metropolitan area of the capital and especially the development of the railway, the town gradually grew into a city. The construction of the Asnières bridge in 1826 greatly fostered trade with Paris (before that date, inhabitants used a small ferryboat). Travel to and from the capital was made easier in 1837 by the first railway line connecting Paris to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, of which Asnières was the first station. Transport was further fostered by the creation of the lines of the Compagnie des omnibus (1870) and of the tramway (1875).
A town revolutionised by its transport. Map based on the drafts of Mr Bringol, architect, 1833. BNF, Paris (IFN-53035167)
MADAME VUITTON TAKES THE TRAIN
In 1864, it took ten minutes to reach Asnières from Paris, with a train departing every half-hour. Clémence-Emilie, Louis Vuitton’s wife, often took that train to travel between the Parisian store on 4 rue Neuve-des-Capucines – near Rue de la Paix – and the Asnières workshops. She knitted to make the most of the commute.
Under the Third Republic, a number of infrastructures emerged, reflecting the town’s growth:
the municipal oven (1879-1880), the Michelet school group (1891) and the départemental institute for the deaf and mute (1894), of which certain residents were employed at the Vuitton workshop.
A TOURIST ATTRACTION AND A STRATEGIC LOCATION
Since it is located on the left bank of the Seine, Asnières benefited from tourism. A number of travellers came to enjoy leisure boating and the banks of the Seine.
LEISURE BOATING
“The summer arrived: Anatole relinquished painting for pleasure: the joys of the water, and the Parisian passion for boating. Docked in Asnières, the boat that he had purchased in his wealth welcomed his group of friends and acquaintances every Thursday and Sunday. They would gather around this good kid’s boat and climb aboard, submerging it to the gunwales.”
The Goncourt brothers, Manette Salomon, 1867.
The Vuitton family themselves enjoyed boating: Georges and Gaston-Louis loved to sail and enjoyed the open-air cabarets that blossomed in this setting.
The location was also strategic, with the Seine being a watery thoroughfare for the transport of finished goods and raw materials. And so the Maison Louis Vuitton transported the wood necessary for the manufacture of its trunks on barges from the Oise Valley.
A BUDDING INDUSTRIAL CITY
During the 19th century, urbanisation naturally led to an increase in local business. Thus, “inns, restaurants, cafés and boat-makers” began to flourish. In 1901, the town was attracting an increasing number of small businesses, and boasted 570 workshops, stores or boutiques.
BUSINESS IN 1860
In 1860, the year when Louis Vuitton’s workshop opened, the Annuaire du commerce Bottin-Didot listed 41 local businesses. It listed plants processing cement, pharmaceutical products, paint, wood and even rice, as well as masons and locksmiths.
To Louis Vuitton, establishing workshops in Asnières was an opportunity to “create his own network of providers for locks, leather currying, tawing and tanning, buckles, canvas and ticking, sawn timber, rivets, sheet metal, hardware, cardboard and paper, brushes and crystal.”
At the turn of the last century, the metalworking industry considerably developed. By the end of the 1920s, the establishment of substantial industries such as Astra (margarine) and Chausson (coach-building and automobile construction) went on to reinforce the city’s industrial dimension.
THE INHABITANTS OF ASNIÈRES
The modernisation of communication modes in the 19th century led to a rapid increase in the city’s population. Indeed, the number of inhabitants was practically multiplied by one hundred in the 19th century.
Demographical development of Asnières-sur-Seine between 1801 and 1901. Plan of Asnières (detail) taken from Emile de Labédollière’s Histoire des environs du Nouveau Paris, Paris, Gustave Barba, 1864
At the time, the businesses and houses were concentrated within the immediate vicinity of the train station and the banks of the Seine. The area where the Vuitton workshop was established was still undeveloped as of 1860.
Until the Second Empire, the population was mainly working-class, principally made up of “launderers, dairy farmers and field labourers.” With the upheaval of the town at the end of the century, a number of villas were built to accommodate “a whole world of artists, literary figures and the idle rich.”
ILLUSTRIOUS RESIDENTS OF ASNIÈRES
The city of Asnières was home to personalities from the luxury and leisure sectors and the intellectual and artistic spheres:
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