The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, DE 19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: Maurepas, Jean-Frederic Phelypeaux, comte de, 1701-1781

Title: Papers

Dates: 1731-1743

Call No.: Col. 300

Acc. No.: 62x14, 62x15

Quantity: 11 items

Location: 17 K 3

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Jean-Frederic Phelypeaux, Comte de Maurepas et de Pontchartrain, was a nobleman in the Court of Louis XV. The count’s father and grandfather had held prominent positions in the court of Louis XIV. Maurepas became state secretary at the age of fourteen. His cousin, the Marquis de la Vrilliere (who later became his father-in-law), guided Maurepas in his career. In 1723, Maurepas became Minister of Marine and tried, despite being hampered by the lack of money, to build up the French navy.

Maurepas also served as secretary of the households of the both the King and Queen. This position included responsibilities for settling questions of rank and etiquette, the distribution of honors, the supervision of royal construction projects, the direction of the Paris police, and being involved in the affairs of the Opera and the Opera Comique.

In 1749, Maurepas was accused of having written something derogatory about Madame de Pompadour and was banished from court. Upon his accession in 1774, Louis XVI recalled him as an advisor, but did not always heed his advice. Maurepas died in 1781.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

Consists of two groups: Reports on English cloth manufacture and the Levant trade (five items; acc. 62x15) and Reports on the possibility of selling cloth from Rouen in Spain and the West Indies (six items; acc. 62x14). In the first set of reports (1731), the compiler gives details on four kinds of woolen cloth manufactured in England and how they were marketed in Turkey. A second set of reports from 1740 discusses French woolens competing successfully with British textiles. The report also reviews unethical practices in the trade, including underselling and using political connections to further trade. Sales figures are present. The fifth document is a letter dated 1743 to Maurepas describing a mission in Turkey by Caylus de Pardaillan.

The second group relates to French efforts to sell textiles in Spain and compete with the British in the textile trade. Included are 55 swatches of French textiles made in Rouen which closely parallel English goods. Many were made in imitation of imported Indian silk-and-cotton goods (striped, chevron, checked, and lozenge patterns; floral patterns which required a draw loom; linen and cotton stripes; tobines; and cottons brocaded with floral sprigs in brightly colored wools). Also included are nine swatches of West of England wools used for clothing by the Spanish.

ORGANIZATION

The documents are in accession number order.

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

The materials are in French.

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.

PROVENANCE

Purchased from Parke-Bernet Galleries.

ACCESS POINTS

Topics:

Prier et Le Breton (Rouen, France).

Textile fabrics - Sample books.

Textile industry - France.

France - History - Louis XV, 1715-1774.

France - Economic policy.

France - Commerce.

Swatches.

Letters.

Merchants.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Location: 17 K 3

[descriptions are adapted from auction catalog entries; materials described are written in French]

62x14.1 petition from Prier and Le Breton, representing the Chambre de Commerce of Rouen, to M. Orry, comptroller-general of finances, 3 August 1743. 6 pages.

Report on efforts of the merchants of Rouen to secure permission from the Spanish court to sell their cloth in Spain and Spanish America. Their request had been denied because the Spanish thought their cotton came from the Orient and might contain plague germs. In reality, most of the cotton used in Rouen came from the West Indies, and in any case, the manufacturing process would destroy germs.

62x14.2 copies of two letters sent with the above petition by Prier and Le Breton to Orry and his secretary Fagon, 4 August 1743. 3 pages

62x14.3 Memoire, 4 pages.

With suggestions on how to gain permission to introduce Rouen cloth into Spain, including sending a secret agent to offer bribes. Also, mention of hopes to enter the Muscovite market.

62x14.4 supplement to the above Memoire. 8 pages.

Includes reports on cloth manufacture in Rouen and suggestions for promoting the sale of muslin and cloths of linen and cotton.

62x14.5 “Cahier d’ecahntillons d’etoffes de Rouen.” 13 pages.

Fifty-five fabric samples, including names, descriptions, dimension, and prices.

62x14.6 samples of English woolen cloth, to compare with the French cloth above. 1 page.

62x15.1-.2 reports on English cloth manufacture and the Turkish market, 1731. 15 pages and 5 pages.

Acc. 62x15.1 gives details about woolen cloth manufactured in London, Gloucester, Worcester, and Salisbury and details about English commerce with Turkey. Discusses kinds of English cloth sold in the Levant. Suggestions for how to increase French textile trade in that area.

Acc. 62x15.2 supplements the above; it gives details on the arrival of merchandise in Smyrna and Constantinople, quantities of cloth sold, prices, etc.

Together, the documents give an analysis of the English cloth industry and the Turkish trade.

62x15.3-4 “Memoire sur le commerce des draps de laine francais en Turquie,” 1740. 41 pages and 5 pages.

Acc. 62x15.3 reports that French woolens have been competing with English and Dutch products but that some of the French merchants have been underselling others. M. Surian is especially guilty of this practice, but he is protected by the French ambassador, M. de Villeneuve. The memoire reviews unethical practices in the trade.

Acc. 62x15.4 compares the trade figures for 1732-1735 and 1736-1739. These figures support the contention of the longer memoire.

62x15.5 Chevalier Caylus de Pardaillan [later Marquis de L.S.] to Maurepas, March 10, 1743, about his mission to Turkey. 12 pages.

Caylus had been sent on a special mission to Constantinople in 1742, and wrote this letter on his return to France in 1743. He had several misfortunes and misunderstandings and displeased several people. There were scrapes over escaped slaves, matters of protocol, and matters of insubordination. At one time, when the British ambassador made a call, the British flag was not flown as it should have been. However, the British ambassador overlooked the slight and later hosted a concert in Caylus’ honor.

[no number] auction catalog for Maurepas Papers, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1962.