Description
Book SynopsisFocuses on the production and distribution of France's important commodity in the sprawling urban center of eighteenth-century Paris where provisioning needs were most acutely felt and most difficult to satisfy. This title shows how the relentless demand for bread constructed the pattern of daily life in Paris.
Trade Review“A landmark in eighteenth-century historiography. The verve and clarity of Kaplan’s writing are marvelous. The completeness of the project is admirable; every kind of archival material that might have shed light on the subject has been systematically scoured.”—William M. Reddy, Duke University
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix
List of Tables xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
I. Bread: Demand and Supply 21
1. Breadways 23
2. Bread Making 61
3. Baker Shops and Bread Markets 81
4. The Forain World 116
5. Bread on Credit 137
II. Bakers: Social Structure and Life Cycle 153
6. The Guild 155
7. From Apprentice to Journeyman 192
8. At Work 227
9. The Journeyman's World Outside the Shop 250
10. Establishment 271
11. Marriage Strategies and Family Life 302
12. Fortune 337
13. Bakers as Debtors 377
14. Failure 400
15. Reputation 423
III. Police of Bread and Bakers 437
16. Primer to Policing: Figuring Supply and Consumption 439
17. The Police of Bakers 458
18. Setting the Price of Bread 493
19. Policing the Price of Bread, 1725-1780 521
Conclusion 567
Appendixes 581
Notes 591
Bibliography 717
Index 745
