Joseph Duclos

Joseph Duclos de Bouillas, born in 1719 in Toulouse, Languedoc and died in 1764, was a French merchant and trader of the Age of Enlightenment. He is also the founder of the Royal Manufactory of Lectoure.

The Duclos The Duclos family The Duclos family was a well-respected and prosperous Toulouse family of merchants.

Jean Duclos, Joseph's father, was magistrate and baron of Laas.

In 1746, the family acquired a house located at 13 rue Peyras in Toulouse, between rue Saint-Rome and rue Alsace-Lorraine in the city center. Previously owned by Joseph Colomès de Laréole, this large mansion dates to the end of the 16th century.

Joseph Duclos (biography) Joseph Duclos was lord of Bouillas, a former land located between Lectoure and Fleurance.

Prosperous merchant and trader from Toulouse, Joseph and his brother, Jean Barthélemy Duclos, ensured transfers of funds from direct taxes between Paris and Auch, serving as intermediaries between the Receiver General of Finance Taillepied, Count de Bondy, in Paris, and the first clerk Marian at the head of the general revenue services in Auch.

The Royal Manufactory of Lectoure The Age of Enlightenment – Creation of French Luxury

At the beginning of the 18th century, French industry continued its development, begun in the previous century by Colbert, then minister of Louis XIV. His aim was to give France a strong economic and financial independence, by launching several new industries. He then decided to improve and develop existing workshops thanks to the contribution of a more qualified foreign workforce. These industries, subsidized by the State, could then be granted the title of royal manufacture. Colbert's wish was to create luxury products capable of enriching the country.

As a result, the existing small artisanal workshops were gradually grouped together to form larger establishments that were given the name "manufacture".

The activity of the manufacture began in 1754 with the support of the intendant. On April 22, 1754, Joseph Duclos applied to the king, to obtain the title of "Royal Manufactory" by royal decree.

Royal Decree

In 1754, King Louis XV allowed Joseph Duclos to create the Manufactory Royale of Lectoure leather.

It is notable that the concept of ecology was already important at the time, one also finds it written in the royal decree : "Barthelemy & Joseph Duclos, brothers, merchants in Toulouse [...] this site being very clean by the nature of its ground & its waters for the preparation of the leathers [...] by destroying the use of quicklime in the first preparation of the leathers, to get the swelling without the recourse of any corrosive ingredients".

The activity of the manufacture until 1850

The activity of the tannery officially began in 1754. Joseph Duclos was then the director of the factory while his brother Jean-Barthélémy lived in Valencia, Spain, probably as an intermediary for Spanish orders. In 1758, the intendant of Etigny took an inventory of the production stock, which represented 9,000 leathers worth 156,690 pounds. The inventory also listed a large number of untanned leathers probably relating to an order from Spain. Thanks to new partners and the 7-year war between France and England from 1756 to 1763, the Manufactory supplied the hides necessary for the manufacture of military footwear. In 1762, an order amounting to 76,000 pounds was recorded in the accounts for the manufacture of 20,000 pairs of shoes for military troops.

In the absence of successors, the activity came to a halt in 1850. The magnificent Lectoure factory, classified as a historical monument in 2018, remained an important monument in the town until its revival in 2021.

Revival since 2021

In 2021 French entrepreneur Franck Dahan acquired the brand name. Artistic director Ramesh Nair drew inspiration from the history of the tannery to revive Joseph Duclos as a heritage luxury brand using fine leathers and traditional crafts to create leather goods, perfumes and accessories. The flagship store of Joseph Duclos is located in Paris on 54, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.