Distribuer les eaux minérales à Lyon au xviiie siècle : entre science, marché et régulation

Abstract

The market for bottled mineral water in the 18th century is a major phenomenon, yet one that remains little understood. A study of this market in the city of Lyon sheds light on the diversity of urban practices related to water, and provides an insight into the importance of water in the medical market of the Ancien Régime. Lyon’s mineral water distribution office was settled in 1753 as a family-run business offering a wide range of bottles to the people of Lyon. Scholarly activity around water was encouraged by the Académie de Lyon, where doctors and chemists promoted new sources to supply the urban market. This trade was legislated from Paris, where the Société de Médecine worked to regulate the sale of water. The article examines the interactions between mineral water distributors, Academicians and the Société de Médecine, painting an expressive portrait of 18th-century mineral water distribution, at the crossroads of science, market and regulation.

Keywords

• Eighteenth Century
• Lyon
• mineral water
• medical market
• history of science
• history of pharmacy