3-034-597 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sardine fishery on the coast of Brittany, 1871. View of '...the arrival of the sardine fleet...in the bay of Douarnenez, Finisterre...Douarnenez may be looked upon as the "quartier general'' of the great sardine merchants...[Here] there are about 900 boats engaged in [sardine fishing], each with a crew of four men and a boy...The boats go out twice daily; and to see the fleet arrive in the evening...is really a fine sight. In the background is the graceful form of the Méné Horn, the highest of the chain of Black Mountains, 1000 ft. above the sea level. We see the boats coming up to the mole and the quays, to land their fish. Men, carrying each a couple of round baskets, await their landing. Every basket will hold 200 fish, which are...washed in salt water, then beheaded, afterwards placed on gridirons and in ovens..., packed in tin boxes, which are filled with the finest olive oil, and soldered down. The boxes are placed in a large iron basket or crate, and plunged for an hour or more into boiling water. This concludes what is called the "fabrication." The boxes are then polished and cleaned up, and are then packed away in racks in the store. All the processes are the work of girls, vast numbers of whom are engaged in this industry'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.