Joséphine Koberwein

Work

Parisian water carrier's daily work

Water carriers in Paris typically transported water using two 20-liter buckets suspended from a wooden beam on their shoulders, earning 0f10 per standard delivery.

What people wore

Formal dress for life events

For church services, weddings, and funerals, ordinary people wore their best clothes, with women covering their heads and both sexes wearing formal black attire for mourning.

Getting around

Travel durations and costs in France

A journey from Paris to Rouen by carriage took 18 hours, while traveling to Barèges required 11 days. During the era of stagecoaches, a dinner at a good inn typically cost two francs.

News and letters

Circuitous postal routes caused delays

A deputy complained in 1829 that letters sent between towns in the same district sometimes traveled long, circuitous routes instead of direct ones, making them as slow as international mail.

Music

Handwritten dance music manuscripts for families

Young people in wealthy families kept handwritten manuscript books of dances, such as quadrilles, waltzes, and bourrées, to enjoy and practice during leisure time.

Daily life

The daily struggle for water

Because water was not piped into most homes, families relied on water carriers to bring it from rivers or public fountains, or they had to fetch it themselves from wells. Drinking water was often not potable, so people frequently filtered rainwater or bought bottled mineral water if they were wealthy.