A discovery in Provence Although my origins aren't particularly important in terms of my active participation in this project, they are more important for this article. I was born in Avignon, a town close to where I grew up, but also in Gordes, where I spent my school holidays, so I'm what you might call 'Provençal', and more broadly 'Mediterranean'. When you say the word 'Provence', you imagine fields of lavender, cicadas, summer heat......

Hippolyte Charles Napoléon Mortier, the Duke of Trévise As you read this, you will have noticed that we often mention one artist in particular: Hippolyte Charles Napoleon Mortier de Trevise (link in French). We would like to introduce you to this man's work in more detail, because thanks to his drawings and watercolours, we have iconographic documents that served as a starting point for our project. The 105 watercolours and drawings of Hippolyte...

Het ontstaan van het "vergeet mij niet" project Het zeer recente onderzoek dat wij samen met de vereniging Objet Témoin uitvoeren onder de vlag van het project Forget Me Not (in het Reunionees Creools uitgesproken als "oubli pas moin") houdt verband met een werk dat door een team van historici en vrijwilligers is uitgevoerd in een voormalige suikerfabriek in het zuiden van het eiland Reunion. -21.3559,55.6458 AFAC974 Réunion...

The Genesis of "Forget me not" Project The very recent research that we are carrying out, with the association Objet Témoin, under the banner of the project Forget Me Not (declined as "oubli pas moin" in Reunionese Creole) is linked to a work carried out by a team of historians and volunteers on a former sugar factory in the south of Reunion Island. -21.3559,55.6458 AFAC974 Réunion Island (Fr) 50.8458,4.3616 Objet...

Industrial Globalization & the Indian Indentured Labour of the 19th Century The Industrial Revolution unleashed contradictory forces in the 19th century. On one hand, it necessitated intercontinental mass labour transit. On the other, and in combination with the French Revolution, it sounded the death knell for slave labour, the very basis of plantation prosperity. Indentured labour emerged to replace slaves. The lure of...

On the Indigo Route ...tracking the story of the bewitching blue dye “Bluest of blue . . .” one that rouses passion, desire, and envy! Is how the website Project Bly describes the indigo colour. These emotions come alive as we travel back in time along the winding indigo route through treacherous trails and stormy seas across continents. But its legacy transcends the consequences of these sentiments to reveal an edge of sustainability, so very...

Reconstitution of the Citizen's costume 1rst part : the research The citizen Let us return to this watercolour by Hippolyte Charles Napoléon Mortier, the Duke of Trevise, of which we have already given a detailed description in the article A citizen of 1848, which we urge you to read before continuing with this article. Opposite, the watercolour by Mortier de Trévise depicts a man whose clothing is a certain "paradox" (as described in the...

Reenactment of the Cafrine's costume Part 1: Research A cafrine & her baby We are proud to present our latest historical re-enactment project, based on this watercolour of Charles Hippolyte Napoléon Mortier de Trévise, dating from 1861. To make sure you don't miss out on any information, here is an article about this character, Hippolyte Charles Napoléon Mortier of Trevise, who was a close associate of the court of Napoléon III. A...

Reconstruction of the Cafrine costume Part 3: The result The Cafrine & her baby We are proud to present our latest historical reconstruction project, based on this watercolour of the Duke of Treviso, dating from 1861. To make sure you don't miss out on any information, we've included : the article about the painter Hippolyte Charles Napoléon Mortier, the Duke of TrevisePart 1 of this reconstruction, explaining watercolour painting...

Sewing machines in the 19th century Part 1: a history Why this article ? It may seem odd to you that we are discussing the genesis of sewing machines as part of our historical reconstruction of 19th century workers' clothing.However, we thought it would be interesting to show the history of these sewing machines in the domestic setting, including their value and worldwide expansion, to highlight the difference between industrially produced...

Sewing machines in the 19th century After our articles on Sewing machines in the 19th century - Part 1: a brief history The sewing machine in the XIXth century - 2nd part : Arrival on the Réunion islandThis is the last article of this triptych, which we hope will allow you to better imagine and understand the historical context as well as the practices related to the making of clothes at the time. While doing research, I was surprised...

Sewing machines in the 19th century Part 2: On Reunion Island Why this article ? We have chosen to investigate this revolutionary tool, which after a particularly rapid and worldwide diffusion, became in the following decades a decorative object present in many homes without being used. This machine nevertheless reoriented the landscape of the textile industry and profoundly changed the fashion industry in the 19th century. To help you better...

Worker Uniforms True Blue that Endures Stains! “. . . the same; not changing or different in any way,” is how the Cambridge Dictionarydefines uniform (word). Ancient or modern, military or civilian, the objectives of uniform (dress) remain unchanged - identification, functionality, protection, andcomfort. Hundred years ago, circumstances separated “white collar” interests from the “blue collar” ones. The wheel has come a full...