Description:

JEAN-SYLVAIN BAILLY
(1736-1793) French scientist and renowned astronomer who turned to politics, presiding over the Tennis Court Oath of 1789 and becoming the first mayor of Paris. A latent monarchist, he was guillotined during the Terror. Manuscript L.S. ‘Bailly' as Mayor of Paris, Paris, Sept. 7, 1791, to a gentleman, in part: ‘…I just received a letter…[about] the service of public exchequer, and he needs to reduce the ‘petty cash' which is distributed in Paris by the Sections. I…forward a copy of this letter for you to report this new arrangement…'. Together with a printed circular of a T.L.S. ‘Bailly' addressed to ‘the Municipal Offices of the City of Paris' with a report from the National Assembly, 4pp. 4to., Paris, June 1, 1790. In this document, Bailly writes: ‘…The National Assembly, Sir, has decreed it would propose that the City of Paris acquire two hundred million in National Goods, and that the Commissioners of the Commune should come to an agreement with the Commissioners of the National Assembly on the nature of the assets to be purchased, and the conditions of their acquisition. The sixty sections of the Capital have chosen Commissioners [of the National Assembly] who are in a position to report to their Principals on the result of the task entrusted to them. Their report [following] has been printed and I have the honor of addressing it to you…convene next Friday at 4 o'clock in the morning, a General Assembly of your District…to authorize…the Commissioners to carry out the proposal made by the City of Paris…'. The report proposes to seize ‘…Ecclesiastical Goods & Estates…in the name of our Commune, [and] the acquisition of National Assets which follow…those farm Assets rented or leased passed before a Notary…established by said act to be an annual product in the sum of [blank]. To achieve the acquisition of these Goods, we consent to pay the price in the manner determined by the Decree of the National Assembly of May 14 last. And insofar as those of the non-leased Assets, & of which the Decree orders that the annual product will be evaluated by Experts to determine the capital price, we also intend to pay it…to the extent of [the Experts'] estimation…named by the District of his Directory. Accordingly, we undertake to deposit, at the Extraordinary Fund [sic], up to three-quarters of the agreed-upon price, fifteen bonds, payable in fifteen years, & bearing interest at five per cent [according to] the Decree & Instructions of the National Assembly...'. This report regards the proposal of the Commune of Paris to acquire 200,000 million ‘assignats', bonds used during the Revolution to address imminent bankruptcy of France. These bonds were backed by the value of properties held by the Catholic Church which had been confiscated in November 1789. Talleyrand proposed that ‘National Goods' be returned to the public, and a complicated scheme for the purchase of and cashing in of these funds – now legal tender - followed. In August 1790, two months after Bailly's request herein, the government decided to issue another 1.9 billion assignats which could be used for all monetary transactions. By 1793, however, the assignats had depreciated considerably, and by 1795, they had lost nearly all their value. This fascinating pair of documents is accompanied by a third piece by French politician FRANCOIS-EMMANUEL GUIGNARD, COME DE SAINT-PRIEST (1735-1821). A colleague of Jacques Necker at the start of the Revolution, he was then named Minister of the Interior by Louis XVI, holding that office until 1791, when he retired to Stockholm. Manuscript L.S. ‘le cte de St Priest' 1p. legal folio, Paris, Feb. 8, 1790, to Bailly as Secretary of State, in part: ‘…I give an account from the King, Sir, of the request made by you to admit into his presence the presidents and commanders of the Sixteen Districts of the city of Paris. The King has kindly agreed for Thursday, the 11th of this month at noon, and I hurry to advise you of this…'. All three documents bear light foxing and wear, overall, very good and worthy of further research!

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August 15, 2024 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

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