What is a manufactory? In the classical sense, manufacture is a form of industrial production preceding the formation of a large machine industry. However, the term “manufacture” is ambiguous. It is used to determine the specific stage of development of capitalist production and the type of capitalist enterprise. Often, manufactory is called textile factory products, decorated with a machine. To denote various kinds of craft establishments, factories, especially textile and weaving, the word "manufactory" also sounds.
Manufactory is, first of all, manual production. This is evidenced by the term "manufactura" (manufactura), formed by the merger of two Latin words: "manus" - "hand" and "factura" - "manufacture". The use of manual labor is one of the main features that distinguish manufactory from factories and plants, the work on which is based on machine and conveyor production.
To clarify the question "what is manufacture", first of all, one should turn to the history of its occurrence. Its predecessors were ancient ergasterii (workshops), medieval wandering artels, craft workshops and their associations (workshops). By the end of the classical Middle Ages, the workshops that regulated craft production, set the rules, distributed orders and controlled the quality of products, ceased to correspond to the realities of the era. To create a more complete picture of what manufactory is, it is important to pay attention to the prerequisites for its occurrence. The need for large-scale industries appeared in an era when crafts and trade grew, geographical discoveries were made, and a market for mass production was formed. So, during the period of absolutism of royal power in France (XVII century), the need for the production of expensive products designed to satisfy the demands of the nobility grew. Large-scale production, manufactories, arising in large quantities at the ducal courts, produced furniture, trellis, dishes, jewelry, playing cards and other luxury goods.
The first factory in Europe is considered to be a porcelain manufactory, founded in 1710 in the castle of Albrechtsburg (Meissen). Later, artisan manufacturing enterprises appeared in many European cities.
What is manufacture, in Russia they knew in the XVII century. At that time, there were state (palace) and merchant workshops, which had separate features of manufactory production. A significant increase in manufacturing was observed under Peter I. At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, enterprises of this type were created, many of which are successfully operating today. For example, the oldest textile enterprise in Moscow, Trekhgornaya manufactory OJSC.
Manufactory is not only a stage in the formation of modern industrial production. The quality of products made by the hands of craftsmen far exceeds the quality of factory products. The role of manufactory in preserving artistic traditions in the arts and crafts is truly invaluable, because the manufacture of unique products today is carried out by the hands of masters.