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Key figures

Origin and history

The House of the Tool and the Worker's Thought is a museum of history and ethnology housed in a Renaissance mansion, the Mauroy hotel, built in 1556 in Troyes. This building, bought by the city in 1966, was awarded in 1969 to the Companions du Devoir du Tour de France to exhibit a collection of ancient tools. The hotel, ravaged by a fire in 1524, was rebuilt by Jean Mauroy, provost of currency, who founded a college for orphans there to teach them a profession, hence the current name of the rue de la Trinité.

The museum houses an exceptional collection of 11,000 hand tools from the 18th and 19th centuries, classified by trades (wood, iron, leather, stone) or by functions (measurement, drilling). Initiated by Father Paul Feller, a Jesuit and passionate craftsman, this collection aims to convey know-how. The tools, exhibited in 65 showcases, illustrate technical evolution and invite to reflect on business gestures, combining manual skill and intellectual reflection.

Complementing the tools, the museum has a holdings of 32,000 books, including rare editions such as the Encyclopedia of Diderot and d'Alembert (1751–180) or De Architectura de Vitruve (1572). This resource centre, France's second technical fund after the Forney library, supports the training of artisans and apprentices. Each year, thematic exhibitions and animations, managed by the Companions du Devoir, value these professions and their knowledge.

In 2017, the museum received the Liliane Bettencourt Prize for Hand Intelligence, rewarding its work in the preservation and transmission of worker know-how. Its objective goes beyond mere preservation: to use the past to enlighten current practices and inspire the future, showing that crafting combines gesture and creative thought. The museum attracts between 16,000 and 25,000 visitors annually.

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