![]() | The Politics of Women''s Work: The Paris Garment Trades, 1750-1915 Subjects: Women clothing workers -- France -- Paris -- History; Women -- Employment -- France -- Paris -- History; Clothing trade -- France -- Paris -- History; Needlework industry and trade -- France -- Paris -- History; Few issues attracted more attention in the nineteenth century than the "problem" of women's work, and few industries posed that problem more urgently than the booming garment industry in Paris. The seamstress represented the quintessential "working girl," and the sewing machine the icon of "modern" femininity. The intense speculation and worry that swirled around both helped define many issues of gender and labor that concern us today. Here Judith Coffin presents a fascinating history of the Parisian garment industry, from the unraveling of the guilds in the late 1700s to the first minimum-wage bill in 1915. She explores how issues related to working women took shape and how gender became fundamental to the modern social division of labor and our understanding of it. |
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