Pierre Bardou
| Pierre Bardou-Job | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Pierre Bardou 17 August 1826 Ille-sur-Têt, Pyrénées-Orientales, France |
| Died | 24 February 1892 (aged 65) Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France |
| Occupation | Industrialist |
| Known for | JOB cigarette paper |
Pierre Bardou-Job (17 August 1826 – 24 February 1892) was a French industrialist, manufacturer of JOB cigarette papers, and art collector.
The use of cigarettes, where tobacco is rolled in thin paper, was imported to France from Spain by French soldiers of the army of occupation, particularly after the 1823 expedition of the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis. Cigarette paper factories were built in the Pyrenees region, including Perpignan. Jean Bardou (1799–1852) was originally a baker, and later became a painter and draftsman. His eldest son Joseph (1823–84) learned the art of making cigarette papers from a manufacturer in Urgel. Jean Bardou decided to enter the business, and in 1849 was documented as a "fancy paper manufacturer". On 3 September 1849 he received a 15-year patent for manufacture of Job cigarette papers. The JOB brand was formed by the founder's initials separated by a diamond representing Perpignan, J♦B. This at once began to be spoken as "JOB".
The small operation was based on the upper floors of a house rented by Jean Bardou on the rue du Bastion St Dominique, at first using paper from another manufacturer. Bardou's children Pierre (1826–92), Marie (1821–98) and Magdeleine Bardou (1829–1907) and four other workers undertook paper cutting and packaging into booklets using paper manufactured in Castres. The packages of rolling paper gave a time-saving alternative to the smoker who would otherwise cut his own paper from a sheet, and were advertised as being hygienic and healthful.
Jean Bardou died in 1852. The JOB brand was auctioned in August 1853 and bought for 16,000 francs by Pierre Bardou. His brother Joseph Bardou had formed a separate company making "le Nil" cigarette papers, with a laughing elephant as its logo. In January 1854 Pierre began making his own paper in Perpignan. A range of flavored papers included licorice, anise, vanilla, juniper, camphor and so on. Careful attention to marketing included development of premium or luxury papers, with attractive boxes designed for ladies.
At the end of 1858 Bardou bought a large house at 18 rue St Sauveur in Perpignan (now the Rue Zola) for 40,000 francs, originally an apartment building, which he divided into one area for manufacturing and another for his residence. Pierre had a glass skylight installed in his "Hôtel de l’Industrie du Papier a Cigarette" factory for illumination. It was used for manufacture from 1861 to 1879, and employed 80 workers in 1861. In 1865–66 a workshop was installed for lithography and printing. Around 1872–75 the Moulasse paper plant was opened on the Salat, a tributary of the Ariège, registered under the names of Pierre Bardou and Leon Pauilhac. A second building was acquired at 13 St Sauveur, then additional buildings until an entire block was occupied, with the manufacturing process becoming increasingly automated, driven by steam power. By 1889 the Job company employed 290 women and 40 men.
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