The development of Saint-Claude:
Stuck in the midlle of the mountains in Haut-Jura, Saint-Claude has a rich history that goes back to the VIth century. At this time, Saint-Calude was called Condat, and it was just a monastery. A community quickly formed around the monastery that brought many craftspeople. Surrounded by forest, there was enough raw materials for woodworking, which grew quickly even though the production was mainly focused on religious items like rosaries.
Over the centuries, the town got bigger and the little monastery became an abbey where many pilgrims came to meditate and see the perfectly preserved body of Saint Claude, who died 400 years before. Since the monks came from rich families, the town was frequented by nobles who purchased goods at very high prices. Local craftspeople have expanded their range by making snuff boxes, paper and... pipes! However, the production of the latter was very limited.
A terrible fire devastated Saint-Claude in 1799, and then taxes and requisitions imposed by the Empire ended many industries. In 1811, only pipe making and woodworking were still working.
At this time, Saint-Claude's pipes were not famous, and craftspeople made stems with wood, horn, clay or porcelain for German and Austrian pipe makers. The work was made in different workshops in villages around Saint-Claude, each workshop having their own specialty. After only making stems, craftspeople in Saint-Claude started making pipes from A to Z, and pipe makers made pipes that were sent in the whole world.
The use of hydraulic energy changed the production methods in many industries, and pipe makers who used to work at home with a foot-operated polishing lathe could work in big factories along the river. Nowadays, you can still see some of these factories on the shore of the Bienne and the Tacon, the two rivers that cross Saint-Claude.
Even though pipes were made in Saint-Claude and around the city for a few decades already, it was nothing compared to Tablet-making. Around 1840, there were only 3 main manufacturers who employed about 20 craftspeople each.
Around 1850, when briar was discovered, another type of woodworking quickly grew to finally dethrone Tablet-making.
The discovery of briar
Nowadays, the origins of the discovery of briar are still controversial, whether it is between different families from Saint-Claude or between Saint-Claude and Cogolin. Many people tell their own story, and we are not here to say who is right. However, there is one story that stands out from the others. It is indeed a direct witness that told us this story:
It was in the first days of October 1858. A traveller with exuberant manner came Place de l'Abbaye at the factory Gay one morning. He came with boxwood stumps that the factory bought in large quantities to make snuff boxes.
After ordering ten thousand kilos of these stumps, and talking of the weather and the grape harvest in the south, Mister Taffanel, it was him, took a mysterious piece of wood out of his pocket.
Here, he said, showing a pipe that one of my shepherd friends told me he smoked for more than a year. Cut with a hexagonal shape and looking like a snuffer, this pipe with a bamboo stem was neither burnt nor damaged.
Intrigued, Mister Gay, the store manager, asked him many questions and bought a few pieces of briar before ordering two bags full of them to be shipped before the end of the month.
The 120 ebauchons came before the end of October, and all were worked in less than a week. A few days later, the pipes were sold and were sent to Paris and Belgium.
Jules Ligier, pipe maker for the company Gay
In 50 years, the number of craftspeople working on pipes went from 20 to more than 6000, and up to 500 women and 200 children were also involved in pipe making. The number of pipe manufacturers was multiplied by 20! However, since 1885, other industries were created in North America, Germany, Austria and Italy, becoming a source of competitiveness. Facing the difficulties of the beginning of the XXth century, Saint-Claude kept its fame. Saint-Claude's know-how crossed the borders to such an extent that famous English brands bought Saint-Claude pipes and then sold them under their name in England.
The pipe in the XXth century: between crisis and golden era
Starting from 1906, many workers from Saint-Claude left France to settle in England because of attractive propositions. It therefore becomes very difficult in Saint-Claude, where prices and wages are low. Depending on what they do, workers do not have the same social status, and there is a big gap that grows quickly. Divide and conquer, as they say. Only pipe makers stayed together, and many trade unions were born to face the difficulties. Even though they were divided, all gathered at "La Fraternelle", which worked as a kind of provident fund.
Before World War I, Saint-Claude produced 28 million pipes each year, half of the world production, for only 4.5 million in 1945. 4500 craftspeople worked in pipe factories in Saint-Claude, a city with 12000 inhabitants. More than 60% of the pipes were sent to the United States of America and, despite a fall in the number of craftspeople, it was a rather happy period for pipes. America had a higher standard of living compared to European countries, and the price of pipes depended on the American market.
This golden era ended with the crisis of 1927. The main market of Saint-Claude's pipe makers disappears almost overnight. Germany will suffer the same fate and the production falls by 50%. England manages to stay afloat while Italy sees its production increase by 150%! Italian craftspeople turned to a less expensive production, and the pipes were therefore easier to sell during the crisis.
Cooperatives and factories merge, and the number of manufacturers goes from 80 to 30. With World War II, France is cut in half. Located in the occupied zone, Saint-Claude cannot bring briar, and pipe makers have to use old pieces of briar that they can find, or even local woods. Gone for more than a century, pipes made with beech wood and boxwood come back.
After World War II, in 1954, there are only 20 manufacturers employing 600 workers left in Saint-Claude. Saint-Claude pipes still kept their reputation in foreign countries. In the middle of the XXth century, Russia, China and mostly South-East Asia start buying pipes made in Saint-Claude.
Saint-Claude, a town like no other!
INA (Institut National de l'Audiovisuel) comes back on the history of Saint-Claude (the international capital city of pipe making) in a video released in 1971. This TV report reminds us why Saint-Claude is a town like no other, and we can see pictures of the workshops in which pipes were made, but also pipe smokers' interviews. Here is this 8-minute video:
What about today?
Nowadays, pipe makers in Saint-Claude represent 95% of the French internal market, and they export about 60% of their production. There is however only about 100 craftspeople who make about 80000 pipes each year. Among the 20 factories of the sixties, there are only two that still make pipes for different brands. There are however a few pipe makers working on their own who manage to propose high-quality pipes, but always in small quantities.
Discover pipes made in Saint-Claude
Since the beginning of 2010, we can see that more and more pipe smokers are looking for colorful pipes with new designs. Pipe smokers are also younger than one might think (between 25 and 35 years old on average). Pipes, that looked like an old fashion trend, are now synonymous with style and originality.
Pipes are not only made for old people anymore, but they are becoming the tool of every gentleman and hipster!
