Interior peasants

Several generations are gathered around a table set for a simple meal. We can see the means of heating: wood or coal stove, foot warmer, bed warmer, Monk and refractory bricks.

Agricultural material

You can also see various planters and seeders, plows, harrows and a whole range of agricultural tools.

Earthenware from Creil and Montereau

The adventure of these factories began in the 18th century to compete with English earthenware. They joined forces in 1840. In 1895, the Creil site closed and in 1920, the Creil et Montereau group was taken over by the owner of the Choisy-le-Roi factory under the name of HBCM.

The bedroom

Curtained bed, rocking cradle. On the chest of drawers, family portraits and mementos, and, protected by its glass globe, the bride's bouquet laden with all its symbols.

After the baptism, reception in the garden

This scene presents the bourgeois costumes of the time.

The bourgeois living room

All the furniture is from the region, period objects and costumes.

The jet ornaments

It was in the second half of the 19th century that jet was widely used, especially in mourning jewelry: necklaces, earrings, brooches, bracelets and clothing ornaments.

The milliner

The milliner makes and sells hats made of felt, straw, and various fabrics, and decorates them with flowers, feathers, or ribbons.

The washer

Many washhouses were spread out along the Yvette and in various districts, thanks to the small streams (rus) which crossed the town.

the furrier

The furrier receives the already tanned hides and softens them before working them. Here, glass eyes make the various animal heads he made more realistic.

The end ironer

We entrust him with fine lingerie. She does her job at home.

the haberdasher

There is a wide variety of small items needed for sewing, embroidery, bobbin lace, and mending. Threads and buttons, darning eggs for socks and stockings, hooks, needles, thimbles, etc.

The sewer

The seamstress has a selection of fabrics and makes clothes ordered by individuals.

The tinker

The tinner repairs metal objects, including kitchen utensils. He is often itinerant.

The glazier

He walks through the streets with his carrier on his back and shouts the famous cry "glazier, glazier!

The butcher

Originally, butchers melted tallow and traded in charcuterie and tripe. It was only later that these industries were separated, particularly in Paris.

The hairdresser

Craftsman whose job is to maintain hair by styling, cutting, curling, etc. Other names and associated professions: barber, barber-wigmaker.

The printer

Lead type cases. Evolution of a layout, compositors, forms, typographic bridge. Numerous engraved plates, typefaces and wooden stamps, some of which were used to print the posters presented, come from the important donation of the Imbault family, a dynasty of printers in Palaiseau since 1866. Some lithographic stones.

The photographer and the cinema

This room is scalable and tells the story of photography through cameras, the photographs themselves and all the equipment necessary for the practice of photography.

The Watchmaker

In the past, watchmakers would handcraft every single piece. Here, you can see a display of pocket watches and sautoirs.

the saddler

The saddler works the leather. He sells and repairs collars, harnesses for hitching horses. He also shapes numerous leather objects, bags, belts, straps and school satchels.

The steel engraver

In Palaiseau there was a steel engraver who disappeared during the First World War. The engraver prepares a model, first with molding in nickel silver, an unalterable alloy of copper, zinc and nickel which imitates silver, or else in plaster, which he submits to the goldsmith, the latter places an order with him and our engraver makes the mold for the object ordered.

The shoemaker

The shoemaker sat on a small bench, with his leather apron, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to the elbows and the palms of his hands covered with a piece of leather allowing him to pull hard on his ligneul (thick thread coated with pitch used by shoemakers to sew leather).

Carpenter

The carpenter works the wood on his workbench equipped with a vertical press, surrounded by his many tools.

The basket maker

The basket maker works the wicker, shapes it to make baskets of different shapes, needed by market gardeners to package their produce. Baskets with strawberries, cherries, potatoes, green beans, violets. Carrying baskets, fleins, hoods for transport, beehives.

The sport

This space, dedicated to sports, presents various objects. The man's bicycle has wooden rims and mudguards. This bike is very old, dating from between 1890 and 1910.

School

In this space, a classroom has been recreated, in which we can observe the students with their teacher.

toys

This room is dedicated to old toys. They are very varied, the oldest dating from the 19th century, croquet games, puzzles, games of goose and checkers as well as the game of cubes, ancestor of the puzzle. We can see and admire lead agricultural tools, they are rare and precious, as witnesses of machinery used in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The nurse

The nursing profession as we know it was developed by two extraordinary women: Florence Nightingale and Valérie de Gasparin.

The War of 1870

Lithograph by Mr. Draner, raffle numbers, a replacement treaty dating from 1869, and other objects and documents relating to this period.

The war of 1914-1918

The "General Mobilization Order" poster, military instruction handkerchief no. 8, poilus' helmets, Prussian army helmets, numerous testimonies of "trench art" and other objects bearing witness to this period.

The war of 1939-1945

The deportee's uniform, with the prisoners' identification mark, allowing the reason for their incarceration to be known, helmets, etc.

The rural guard

The rural policeman, whose origins date back to the Middle Ages, is a territorial agent responsible for ensuring safety and law enforcement in rural areas. He also served as a town drummer, announcing information to the population. He could be heard shouting "notice to the population."

The model room

This is a donation made on a scale of 1/100th. Several districts of the old Palaiseau are presented. These models are made with a very precise sense of reconstruction, from plans and various archival documents.

The posters

A large collection of posters, most of them from the "Imbault" collection, a family of printers in Palaiseau since 1866. These posters are currently being mounted on canvas to preserve their conservation.