Musée du Cartonnage et
de l’Imprimerie
3, avenue du
Maréchal Foch
84 600 Valréas
Tél. 04 90 35 58 75

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century. In 2003, only five factories remained, with about 470 employees. Today, Packétis is the only survivor of this saga. They continue to produce small folding cases and stands for vials destined for the pharmaceutical sector.

The Printing and Box Making Museum (Musée du Cartonnage et de l’imprimerie), which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, retraces the manufacturing methods of the cardboard box, produced industrially or by hand, from the early days to contemporary times. A thematic presentation spotlights the two industries of box making and printing. Collections of vintage cardboard boxes and caskets transport the visitor back through time.

make other boxes for pharmaceuticals, confectioners, cosmetics… The Valréas cardboard industry was born, and rapidly acquired an international reputation.

In 1900, the Revoul factory employed more than 1,000 workers in 14 outlets across a radius of 140km around the town. Workshops proliferated. The activity even gave rise to work from home: young woman helped assemble future jewelry or candy (nougat, calissons ) boxes. In its wake, printing and lithography studios were set up. But facing competition from other materials and other companies, the industry died out at the beginning of the 21st

The story begins with the culture of silkworms in the Comtat Venaissin area around Avignon . In the middle of the 19th century, the Meynard family, initiators of this industry, set out to resolve a problem. The Bombyx mori eggs which the family imported from Japan and from China were dying on the trip home. They look for packaging adapted to the transport, and with the best possible ventilation. Ferdinand Revoul, a local wigmaker and hairdresser who owned a haberdashery bazaar "Aux Dix Mille Articles" found the solution: he invented the aerated box. Realizing the success of his discovery, he decided to

By Chantal Sarrazin - Photos Valréas - December 8, 2011

The boxes are like little treasures. Open, unfold, unpack, unwrap… all containers hold a secret. For almost two centuries Valréas, a town in the "Enclave of the Popes" in the Vaucluse, was famous for its box making.

Hand Made

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• Folklore and traditions