Stonecutter
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Le Tailleur de pierre | The Stonecutter
A Stonecutter’s Mallet ("Maillet rond de tailleur de pierre", 1740 drawing (artist unknown), BAnQ numérique).
The tailleur de pierre, or stonecutter, was a craftsman who cut and shaped stones into accurate geometrical shapes so that they could be used. They were responsible for lifting and handling the stones, sawing and carving them, and polishing and finishing the surface.
Stonecutters used a wide variety of tools to handle and shape stone blocks and slabs into finished articles. The basic tools for shaping the stone were a mallet, chisels, and a metal straight edge. With these one could make a flat surface - the basis of all stonemasonry. Chisels came in a variety of sizes and shapes, dependent upon the function for which they were being used. There were different chisels for different materials and sizes of material being worked, for removing large amounts of material and for putting a fine finish on the stone.
Once the stones were ready to be used, the stone mason laid bricks to construct brickwork, or any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces.
At times, the stone mason and stone cutter performed the same work: cutting and shaping the stones, then setting them with mortar.
Known persons who had the occupation of master stonecutter: Paul Charpentier, Jean Cousineau, Jacques Danquel dit Lamarche, Jacques Denis, Jean Dubois, Gabriel Dumastre, Pierre Gratis, Pierre Janson dit Lapalme, Alexandre Jourdain, Jean-Baptiste Laniel dit Desrosiers, Jean-Baptiste Larchevêque, Philippe Larose, Jean Minet, Étienne Parent
Known persons who had the occupation of stonecutter: Paul Bizet, Paul Charpentier, Jean Cousineau, Jean Daveluy, Jean Deguire dit Larose, Guillaume Deguise, Jacques Deguise, Jean Deslandes dit Champigny, Pierre Gratis, Charles Guilbault, Pierre Hallé, Guillaume-Alexandre Jourdain, Charles Lamusique, Jean-Baptiste Larchevêque, Philippe Larose, Étienne Livernois, Jean Minet, Jean-Baptiste Payet dit Saint-Amour, Charles Pepin, Louis Pepin, Léonard Pichon, Mathurin Roy, Esprit Senet, George Stems
19th-Century Stonecutters and Masons ("Tailleur de pierre et maçons = Steinhauer und Maurer", 1847 drawing/painting by Jean Frédéric Wentzel held by Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire de Strasbourg, Bibliothèque nationale de France).
Sources:
“Tailleur”, Portail lexique du Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales, https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/tailleur.
Alfred Franklin, Dictionnaire historique des arts, métiers et professions exercés dans Paris depuis le treizième siècle (Paris, H. Welter, 1906), 679.