Gainerie
French craft of leather-clad cases, sheaths and desk goods
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gainerie is the craft of making and covering rigid supports (wood, board, metal, plastics) to produce cases, scabbards and sheaths for arms and precious objects, as well as boxes, desk sets (e.g. desk pads), stands and other presentation or furnishing items—traditionally clad in leather, but also in paper or imitation leathers.[1][2]
Gainerie workshop – Encyclopédie of Diderot and d’Alembert. | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
Activity sectors | Leather crafting |
| Description | |
| Competencies | Leather covering, case- and box-making, gilding on leather |
Skilled gainiers may dye their own leathers and apply ornament by hot tools (dorure au fer) and other finishing techniques.[3]
Etymology
History
In Paris the community of gainiers is recorded in medieval sources and later statutes. Diderot and d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie summarizes that the maîtres Gaîniers, Fourreliers & ouvriers en cuir bouilli (masters gainiers, furriers and workers in boiled leather) were a juranded body from 1323,[6] with their organization perfected by regulations dated 21 September 1560 under King Francis II.[7] Contemporary archival finding aids corroborate the period’s acts: an arrêt of the Parlement of Paris ordered registration of letters homologating the statutes of the gainiers of Paris on 5 December 1560.[8]
Earlier attestations of the trade appear in lexicographic evidence (Boileau’s Livre des Métiers, 1260), reflecting established activity by the mid-13th century.[5]
In 1560, Francis II confirmed the privileges of the gainiers’ corporation and even extended them; these regulations remained in force until 1776. At that time, the corporation of coffer-makers and trunk-makers disappeared, merging with the gainiers' corporation.[9]
Around the 16th century, a strong rivalry arose between the bookbinders and the gainiers. Some gainiers acquired gilding tools, but since the bookbinders' corporation had a much greater prestige, it was the bookbinders who obtained the exclusive use of royal gilding tools, often encroaching on the gainiers' domain by taking advantage of royal privilege.[10]
In the early modern period the Parisian faubourgs associated with cabinetmaking and the luxury trades (notably around the Faubourg Saint-Antoine) became important centres for leather and case-making, a tradition that persists in specialist workshops.[11]
Later, gainerie experienced considerable growth in France at the beginning of the 19th century, especially around 1830, due to the development of industries that required cases or containers. At that time, the French were renowned worldwide for the good taste of their productions.
Techniques and materials
Gainerie combines small joinery or box-making with leatherwork: a rigid fût (wood, board, metal or modern plastics) is formed, then covered in leather, paper or synthetic substitutes, with edges turned in and seams worked flush. Decoration may include gilding with heated tools (filets, palettes, roulettes), blind tooling, embossing and onlay.[11][3]
Traditional leathers include morocco (goatskin), shagreen and galuchat (ray or shark), materials long used for cases and sheaths; literary and technical sources alike associate gainiers with such coverings.[5]
Modern practice
In France, gainier is officially listed among the métiers d’art; practitioners produce custom cases and presentation boxes, desk accessories, stands and interior elements for luxury, heritage and contemporary uses.[11]