![[NAPOLEON I] Letter signed (as "Napoleon").](/sites/default/files/styles/auction_slider/public/images/lots/004/1467004.jpg?itok=X967_gbc)
Lot Details
Lot 1067
[NAPOLEON I] Letter signed (as "Napoleon").
Three pages, dated Posen [Prussia], 29th November, 1806, addressed to Emmanuel Crétet, first governor of the Banque de France. Two conjugate leaves of thin paper, accompanied by the original envelope addressed to Crétet (with "L'Empereur" written at the foot, flap with the Imperial seal retained), leaf size 9 5/8 x 8 inches (24.5 x 21 cm); 40 lines in French in a secretarial hand, written in blackish-brown ink, signed "Napoleon," with a strong flourished signature. Usual folds; together with BONAPARTE, JOSÉPHINE. Letter signed (as "Josephine"). One page, dated Fontainebleau, September 30, 1807, addressed to [from content] Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne ["mon cher Bourrienne"], French Consul to Hamburg. Single leaf with conjugate blank, leaf size 9 5/8 x 8 inches (24.5 x 21 cm); 5 lines in French in a secretarial hand, written in blackish-brown ink, signed "Josephine," with a strong signature. Usual folds. The pair bound in an old green morocco binding with Napoleonic arms, bound with accompanying color-stipple engravings of a slightly later period, the letters archivally tipped-in. Binding worn and toned, front cover detached.
The letter from Napoleon is an exceptionally interesting one, touching on the economics of warfare. Writing from Prussia during the War of the Fourth Coalition against Napoleon (in which he defeated the combined forces of Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain on the 14th of October, previous to this letter), Napoleon writes to the newly appointed (25 April 1806) governor of the Banque de France regarding decisions which the latter has made. Crétet, who had proposed the institution of a central bank, and who had advised that it be independent of the government, had informed Napoleon of several decisions he had made (in a letter of the 15th November, referred to here). These measures Napoleon endorses in this reply. The first pertains to the establishment of a system by which the Banque backs letters of credit issued by the various French commercial centers. The second, and perhaps most interesting measure, pertains to the Rentes, the interest paid on the indebtedness of the French government, and regards changes that Crétet has made that Napoleon feels will help make France competitive against England in terms of returns on investment on securities issued by the French government. For the ramifications and (limited) success of French financial policy see Bordo, Michael D., and Eugene N. White. "A Tale of Two Currencies: British and French Finance During the Napoleonic Wars." The Journal of Economic History, vol. 51, no. 2, 1991, pp. 303-316.
C
Additional Notes & Condition Report
No condition report? Click here to request one.