THE SURVEY :

THE BAROMETER

BY ÉMILE REMOISSENET

by Ludovic Chataing (Webullition.info)

What are these strange dials installed at 12, en Fournirue in Metz?

Discreetly embedded in the corner of the rue de la Princerie, you can see three weather devices! A thermometer, a wind indicator and, above all, a barometer, an instrument from another time that predicts rain or shine. What are they doing there?

At first glance, the barometer belongs to the category of "aneroids", whose invention is attributed to the Frenchman Lucien Vidie in 1843. Apart from that, all we have is the manufacturer's signature inside the barometer "Remoissenet Optique - Metz". However, there is no optician at this address. It is a clothing shop for young people (and now a sandwich shop specialising in pretzels). I then decided to investigate the only public barometer in Metz, still in working order.

On the trail of Emile Remoissenet...

First step, I enter the shop at 12, en Fournirue, thinking I'll find some answers. The salesman can't really give me any information: "that's old". He mentions a date before 1930. The shop has only been there for 6 years, so it's not possible to give conclusive answers. I decide to focus my research elsewhere. At 9, rue des Récollets.

According to a first Internet search, this is where Emile Remoissenet lived. Going up the rue Taison, I found the street in question in barely 5 minutes. Number 5, Number 7... And there a big building. In front of number 9, I noticed that it was a private catholic school, from nursery school to high school. Without conviction, I ask the lady at the reception desk who answers me, surprised: "I don't know anything about it". Blank spaces. I had to change my method. And why not look in the town archives, located on the first floor of the same street?

The death certificate in German

Once I had crossed the large courtyard and the vaults that lead to the municipal archives, I entered this place that is unknown to the general public, a little intimidated. With the help of the room manager, I finally come across something concrete: the death certificate of "Emil Aoutin Remoissenet". I am still disoriented when I see the handwriting, difficult to decipher, and especially in German. Yet Lorraine was indeed German at that time, the death certificate certifying the date of 9 June 1900.

Bold from these first finds, I decide to take a look around the tourist office. For the moment, there is no particular visit around this barometer, but Laurence, the receptionist, remembers this optical shop that was there "more than 10 years ago".

I also contacted the Territorial Service of Architecture and Heritage (STAP), located at the foot of Saint-Etienne cathedral. After some research, their file for 12, en Fournirue includes "façade renovations", but nothing about the barometer. The same is true of the regional inventory service in Nancy, but they have no further information on this subject.

A death certificate and a few souvenirs from Messina. That's all we have for the moment at the investigation stage. It is light, much too light.

Internet, a gold mine

A little short of information, I decided to explore the Internet in great detail. In addition to an anecdote from the local newspaper "Zeitung für Lothringen" of 25 December 1892, I found old glasses and other barometers for sale, which have become rare objects. And even an invoice with the original signature of Mr. Remoissenet.

But it is mainly thanks to the digitised archives of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) that my investigation is progressing. We find a temperature reading in the news section of the newspaper "La Justice" of Thursday 27 January 1881:

"In Metz, at two o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Remoissenet's thermometer was still reading 12 degrees."

While searching the BNF's Gallica database, I discovered some clues. Names of scientists who knew Mr Remoissenet from near or far. The searches converge on a periodical, "Mémoires de l'Académie de Metz". On the index, we find this inscription "Notice sur M. E.-A. Remoissenet, optician-constructeur à Metz, p.121 à 129". This is the 1900-1901 volume, corresponding to the year of our man's death. Unfortunately, out of more than a hundred volumes, these years were not correctly indexed in the database.

The 9 pages of the only known biography of Emile Remoissenet

I decided to go back to the archives in Metz. And there bingo! The 1900-1901 volume is available. Exactly as indicated, on page 121, we discover the story of Emile Remoissenet, inventor and talented optician, but also a man of science, photographer, town councillor...

Discover the life of Emile Remoissenet

testimony transmitted by his contemporary M. Schuster :

Born in Longwy on 29 April 1838, Emile-Augustin Remoissenet did part of his studies in Metz before studying at the Ecole des Arts et Métiers in Châlons in September 1853. He then returned to Metz to work for his brother-in-law Mr Belliéni. He became familiar with optics, the manufacture of mathematical instruments and, in particular, topography.

He met Colonel Goulier, who decided to collaborate with him, admiring the young optician's talent. With the experience he had acquired, Emile Remoissenet then set about creating his own devices. He made a "dividing machine". He invented the "shell knee", a stable support for compasses which was soon applied to the old compasses of the Ecole d'application.

In 1872, Mr Belliéni left Metz and transferred his workshops to Nancy. It was at this time that Mr Remoissenet founded a company under his own name in Metz. The business was prosperous, helped by his wife who was in charge of "bookkeeping and writing". At the end of 1872, Mr Remoissenet was elected to the Metz Academy as an associate member. He became a full member three years later, on 25 February 1875. Emile Remoissenet was a man who kept abreast of all the latest scientific developments "and it was at his home, if I am not mistaken, that we saw the first telephone established in Metz".

Schools and educational institutions sent him devices related to physical or mechanical science for repair. He was also a skilled photographer and loved the fine arts. "He had good taste", according to Mr Schuster. Around 1885, he became a member of the Municipal Council "yielding, almost reluctantly, to the pressing demands of some friends".

The man's happiness came to an end when he lost his two sons within a few years of each other. Mr. Schuster mentions his state of health, 'undermined by regrets and an internal illness' to which he succumbed on 8 June 1900.

Initially a little disappointing, the research in the municipal archives was ultimately very prolific for the investigation. But one question remains. Who is now in charge of the barometer?

"Nobody, according to the real estate agency that manages the building. Emile Remoissenet's barometer is a fine 19th century meteorological instrument in working order, but for how much longer?

To continue the investigation

If you feel like a historian and would like to know more about Emile Remoissenet and his barometer, here are some other avenues to explore in the Metz archives :

- Emile Remoissenet was also a member of the city council, around 1885 according to M. Schuster. Explore the freely accessible minutes of the municipal councils.

- Find the descendants of Emile Remoissenet with birth and death records. His descendants will undoubtedly be able to tell you more about the history of this shop in Metz and this barometer...

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)