Prince François, Prince of Joinville

François d'Orléans, Prince de Joinville was the third son of Louis Philippe, King of the French, and his wife Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. An admiral of the French Navy, François was famous for bringing the remains of Napoleon from Saint Helena to France, as well as a talented artist, with 35 known watercolours.

Political symbols adorned daily attire

Public display of political allegiance became mandatory or prudent through small, inexpensive accessories like the red, white, and blue tricolor cockade. True republicans also wore civic-themed jewelry featuring revolutionary emblems like phrygian caps, sometimes even fashioned into shapes resembling miniature guillotines.

Poverty dictated clothing recycling and repair

Common people relied heavily on second-hand markets and repairing worn garments, as purchasing a complete new outfit was an exceptional financial event. Because laundry was infrequent and clothing was limited, many rural workers appeared in dull, monochromatic outfits, often going barefoot during the warm season.

Village dancing with pipe and tabor

The pipe and tabor were common instruments used for village dances, and travelers often observed young people dancing to this music in meadows or at festivals.

Handwritten dance music manuscripts for families

Young people in wealthy families kept handwritten manuscript books of dances, such as quadrilles, waltzes, and bourrées, to enjoy and practice during leisure time.

Mountain sledding and early rapid communication

Travelers crossed the steep Mont-Cenis pass between France and Italy on muleback, while adventurous passengers slid down snowy slopes in sleds known as ramasse in only fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, the Chappe semaphore telegraph allowed messages to travel across France in hours instead of days, though people still relied on traditional transport.

Slow and expensive travel across France

Between 1800 and 1824, land travel was slow and expensive; a journey across France could take 20 to 30 days on foot or by slow carriage. Transporting a ton of goods from Paris to Marseille cost around 250 francs, roughly the annual wage of an unskilled laborer.

The daily struggle for water

Because water was not piped into most homes, families relied on water carriers to bring it from rivers or public fountains, or they had to fetch it themselves from wells. Drinking water was often not potable, so people frequently filtered rainwater or bought bottled mineral water if they were wealthy.

Divergent paths for children's schooling

Bourgeois children were taught reading, writing, and sometimes music by their mothers, then sent to primary school at age six. In contrast, rural children often began working in the garden or farmyard at age seven, while poor urban children performed odd jobs like shoe shining or worked in factories.

Bread as the Daily Staple

Bread was the essential staple for all social classes, often eaten as soup or with lard, onions, and cheese. It was baked in various qualities, with some large loaves weighing up to twelve pounds.

Coffee and Its Expensive Substitutes

Coffee became a widely popular staple despite being expensive, with prices soaring during the Continental Blockade to five francs per pound. Due to this scarcity, people attempted to create local substitutes using roasted acorns, peas, or carrots.

Average Daily Wages for Workers

During the First Empire, a typical worker earned an average daily wage of 2 francs, while specialized blacksmiths earned 5 francs and masons earned between 1 and 1.50 francs.

Cost of Luxury Goods

Luxury goods were quite expensive compared to wages; for example, a pair of boots cost 18 francs in 1801, and a kilogram of sugar cost 4 francs.

Memorable facts of Parisian labor life

A Paris water carrier typically made 35 to 40 trips daily, delivering 20-liter buckets suspended from a wooden shoulder yoke, and could earn 5 to 6 francs for a 4 to 5-hour moving job. Families often relied on cheap, filling meals like boiled dried chestnuts, which cost 0f60 per kilogram.

Common jobs in early 19th-century France

Most ordinary people worked in agriculture, while urban workers were typically merchants, skilled artisans like carpenters and blacksmiths, or unskilled laborers.