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Description
[Yonne]
The Marquis de Louvois and the Ancy-le-Franc estate, 1822–1827
Ledger of income and expenditure for the Ancy-le-Franc estate, belonging to Auguste-Michel Le Tellier de Louvois, Marquis of Souvré and Louvois
In-plano register (51 x 36 cm), 19 pages handwritten in ink, bound in greenish velvety calfskin; on the upper cover, a red morocco label framed by a gilt frieze with interlaced patterns, the title stamped in gilt letters, central metal clasp, reinforced corners on the spine
Accounts of income and expenditure, 1822–1827, kept by Alexis Saillard, steward of the Ancy-le-Franc estate, and validated for each year by the Marquis de Louvois with his initials and signature at the end of the annual accounts.
Auguste-Michel-Félicité Le Tellier de Souvré, born in 1783 in Paris, was the son of Louis Sophie Le Tellier de Louvois (1740–1785) and Marie-Jeanne-Victoire-Henriette de Bombelles. His fate was shaped at an early age by the French Revolution, which threatened to wipe out the fortune amassed by his ancestors. During the Reign of Terror, he was forced to go into exile with his mother, staying in Regensburg in 1794 with his uncle, the Marquis de Bombelles. During this period, his property in France was placed under sequestration but was not sold. In 1795, aged just twelve, he was smuggled back into France and, with the support of the local population who were loyal to his family, managed to regain possession of the Château d’Ancy-le-Franc, acquired by his famous forebear in 1683, François-Michel Le Tellier, Louis XIV’s Minister of War.
On 7 August 1804, he sealed a prestigious marriage alliance by marrying Athénaïs-Euphrosine-Louise-Philippine Grimaldi of Monaco, daughter of Joseph Grimaldi and niece of the reigning Prince Honoré IV. Although the couple had no children, Athénaïs lived with him at the Château d’Ancy-le-Franc, playing an active part in the running of the estate until the marquis’s death in 1844.
Appointed Chamberlain and Count of the Empire in 1811, then appointed by Louis XVIII as a Peer of France in 1815, he was granted the title of hereditary Marquis-Peer in 1819. He presided over the General Council of the Yonne and the department’s electoral college.
The agro-industrial estate: woodland, forge and glassworks
In 1822, the Marquis de Louvois found himself at the head of a colossal landholding, the nerve centre of which was the commune of Ancy-le-Franc. The estate covered a total area of nine thousand hectares, making him the region’s largest landowner. The bulk of this land consisted of woodlands. The marquis managed his woods as an industrial resource, supplying the fuel required for his blast furnaces.
The Château d’Ancy-le-Franc is the most prestigious part of the marquis’s estate. In 1822, he set about restoring the apartments and the Renaissance décor (Fontainebleau school) which had suffered damage during the Revolution.
In 1821, the marquis established a metallurgical works there, which began operations in 1822 following a royal decree. The forge introduced the puddling process and ‘English-style’ rolling mills, employing around 400 workers and producing the famous ‘Ancy-le-Franc iron’, renowned for its strength. The products were shipped to Paris and Dijon via the Burgundy Canal, the development of which the marquis actively supported.
Accounts for the period 1822–1827
The pages of the “Ledger” shed light on the estate’s financial organisation in the early 1820s and provide an overview of the estate’s management between 1822 and 1827. This period specifically covers the launch of the marquis’s metallurgical operations.
The breakdown of monthly income confirms the estate’s diversification: farms, mills, furnaces commissioned in 1822, the glassworks (a factory founded in 1776 by the Marquis de Courtanvaux), and sales of firewood and timber for construction.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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