Cooper
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Le Tonnelier | The Cooper
A Cooper ("Un tonnelier", watercolour painting (artist unknown), Bibliothèque nationale de France)
The tonnelier, or cooper, manufactured barrels (large wooden receptacles generally used for storing liquids) from timber that was usually heated or steamed to make it pliable. Barrels had to be made of quality wood, free of defects and vermin. They also had to respect official gauges and be able to contain the quantity of wine, beer or brandy expected. Coopers were frequently linked, by blood or marriage, with brewers, taverns and wine merchants.
The cooper’s occupation required him to make barrels on demand and deliver them to his clients. From the 17th to the 19th century, many industries relied on barrels for the transportation of their goods, so the cooper’s role in society was important. During the fur trade years, some coopers went west to practice their trade. Others sold their barrels to fish, flour and wheat salesmen, brewers, and biscuit and cookie makers, many of whom transported their goods by boat. Some merchants hired on coopers to work full-time in their businesses.
Even on a personal level, residents needed barrels. Wells were rare in New France, so water was collected from rivers and other sources using barrels.
The Cooper’s Workshop ("Le tonnelier = Der Kaefer", 1847 drawing by Jean Frédéric Wentzel held by the Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire de Strasbourg, Bibliothèque nationale de France)
Learn how wine barrels are made for oak aging with a hands-on demonstration by Nadalie Cooperage in Napa Valley
Sources:
Jeanne Pomerleau, Métiers ambulants d'autrefois (Montréal, Québec: Guérin, 1990), 201-205.
Pascale Girard, "Les métiers en Nouvelle-France", Semaine nationale de la Généalogie (2014); online article, Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie (http://www.semainegenealogie.com/extra/articles/182-les-metiers-en-nouvelle-france).