The definitive book on Claude-Joseph Bonnet has recently been translated into English under the title The Black Silk Baron: Claude-Joseph Bonnet, Master Silk Manufacturer in 19th-Century France.

The volume runs to 400 pages and includes a preface by historian George Sheridan.

To purchase a copy, please contact us. The price is €29, plus shipping costs.

Book Summary

Claude-Joseph Bonnet, born on the cusp of the French Revolution, became a pivotal figure in the 19th-century Industrial Revolution as a silk manufacturer. Leaving his home in rural Bugey for Lyon at the age of 17, he rose to prominence as a true self-made man, excelling in the Lyon silk industry by specializing in premium-quality black silks. His career, spanning the First and Second Napoleonic Empires, was marked by a commercial success that established the Bonnet brand as one of the most prestigious in Lyon. The company not only thrived in France but also gained international renown, forming exclusive partnerships with the newly emerging department stores. Driven by the belief that he was doing “good” by helping rural women avoid migration to the cities, Bonnet devoted part of his career to creating an industrial boarding school for young girls in his hometown, sparking significant social and political discussions of the time. While liberal in his business dealings, he adhered to a rigid moral conservatism, embodying an uncompromising paternalism. This stance made him a target of labor activists and the socialist press, particularly during the Canut revolts and the revolution of 1848, when his likeness was hung in effigy during protests, alongside other manufacturers. A prominent figure in 19th-century Lyon, Bonnet was one of those “conquering bourgeois” who regarded their business as their life’s crowning achievement, dedicating themselves to it with unwavering commitment.
This work, the product of immense research by historian Henri Pansu from 1960 to 2012, is a sweeping historical essay that intertwines the entrepreneurial trajectory of Claude-Joseph Bonnet and his immediate successors with the political upheavals of 19th-century France, the technological evolution of the silk industry, and the interconnected narratives of family and society.

Table of Contents

Preface
Foreword

Chapter 1 – The Origins
At the dawn of the French Revolution
The Bonnets in the Revolution
Moderate Republicans
Claude-Joseph Bonnet’s Early Years

Chapter 2 – The Way to Success
The Foundation
The Marriage Venture
The Rise of a Businessman
The Family Man

Chapter 3 – Silk Fabrication
The Lyon Silk Industry: A World of Its Own
The Age of Specialization
The Three Golden Ages of Fashion
Areas of Specialization
Quality as an Obsession
The Quest for the Perfect Black
Gillet and Bonnet: A Long-Standing Partnership
Official and Public Recognition
The Innovators

Chapter 4 – The Businessmen
The Work-Driven Generation
The Careful Language of Business
The Capital
The Transition of Power
Running the Business
Trade Practices

Chapter 5 – Masters and Workers
Workers Uprisings
1848: Emergence of Class Struggle
Bonnet, a Master in the Time of the Second Empire
The Employer Class in the Time of C.-J. Bonnet’s Grandsons

Chapter 6 – Bonnet the Industrialist
The Origins of the Jujurieux Factory
The Construction of the Buildings
Vertical Integration

Chapter 7 – A Fabrique Within the Village
The External Workforce of the Factory
Home-Based Silk Weaving

Chapter 8 – The Industrial Cloister
The Factory-Boarding School
The Boarding School Staff
Management Involvement
An Industrial Cloister

Chapter 9 – Life in the Boarding School
Leisure Activities
Life at the Boarding School
Voices of the Workers
Paternalism
Worker Suicides
Preparing for the Future
The Fate of the Boarders

Chapter 10 – A Moment of Fame
Local Impact
The Hold
A Source of Inspiration
Views of Certain Contemporaries
Writers and Commentators
The Religious Viewpoint
Left-Wing Press Criticism
A Loss or a Gain?
Discipline, Prevention, and Moralism

Chapter 11 – A Respectable Family
City and Country Bourgeoisie
Fortunes and Alliances
Money and Arranged Marriage
The Children
A Head of the Family at Fifty
Bonnet and His Daughters

Chapter 12 – Victor, the Estranged Son
Victor Bonnet’s Youth
1849: The Year of the Break
Eighteen Years in Exile
Reflections on a Conflict
A Product of the Times?
Bonnet’s Influence on the Extended Family

Chapter 13 – Education and Religion
The Children’s Education
Pre-Marital Activities
A Distinct Path: A Career in the Silk Trade
The Influence of Religion on the Family
The Lure of Influence
Defence of the Faith

Chapter 14 – Social Life with the Bonnets
The Lyonnais Notables
Landowning Bourgeoisie, Business Elite, and Aristocracy
Notables of Jujurieux
The Standard of Living
Intellectual Openness
The Significance of Travel

Chapter 15 – Across the Century
The Restoration Period
The Liberal Triumph of the July Monarchy
The Revolution of 1848
The Reaction
The Coup
The Empire
The Franco-Prussian War of 1870
Weakening of the Conservative Camp

Chapter 16 – The Final Days of a Patriarch

Conclusion