Origin and history
The former Desmarest plant, located in Méru, Oise (Hautes-de-France), was built between 1857 and 1887 under the impulse of Charles Fessart, trading in raw materials for the tablet factory. This industrial complex, the first of its kind motorized in Méru thanks to a steam machine, symbolizes the rise of this activity in the 19th century. Its brick buildings, with large windows and a truncated fireplace, reflect the typical architecture of the Industrial Revolution in northern France. The factory produced objects in mother-of-pearl, horn, ivory and wood (buttons, tokens, dice, etc.), making Méru the "World capital of the mother-of-pearl button".
In 1892, the site moved to the Dégremont brothers, who employed up to 80 workers and rented workshops to artisans. Production declined in the 20th century in the face of competition from synthetic materials and the disappearance of traditional outlets (panels, ball books). After a fire in 1946 and the definitive cessation of production in 1972, the factory served as a warehouse for toys before being bought by the city. Classified as a Historical Monument in 1994, it is transformed into a Mother of Pearl and Tablettery Museum, inaugurated in 1999, to preserve this industrial and artisanal heritage.
The museum, installed in the old workshops, reconstructs manufacturing lines with old machines, including an Albaret steam machine installed on site. It maintains various collections: tools, finished products (buttons, fans, games), raw materials, and archives (invoices, books of accounts). The site, extended in 2010, also includes a hotel-restaurant ("Hotel de la Tableterie") and educational spaces. Today, the museum perpetuates lost know-how, such as the restoration of mother-of-pearl objects, and attracts about 20,000 visitors annually, bearing witness to Méru's industrial heritage.
The factory architecture, characteristic of the large industries of the North, combines bricks, full-circle arch windows and slate roofs. The fireplace, stables, and decorative brick wall are protected. The renovation works (1990 and 2000) preserved this historic character while modernizing the spaces. The museum, labeled "Musée de France", plays a key role in the transmission of this heritage through live demonstrations and workshops.
Meruvian tabletry, born in the 17th century as a peasant winter activity, industrializes in the 19th century thanks to technological advances and open markets. Local artisans, trained empirically, worked horn, bone, ivory and wood for Parisian merchants. At the height of his glory, Méru numbered 3,856 tablekeepers in 1851, exporting luxury buttons, games, and accessories. The decline began with the advent of plastics (galalithe, plexiglas) and changing fashion, despite attempts to modernize (grèves of 1900 and 1936).
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