Business to Madness to Social Betterment Projects

Below is a typical folded letter from France to Switzerland under the Universal Postal Union rate of 25 centimes per 15 grams.  It was sent from the Gare du Nord post office in Paris on July 18, 1879 and there is a Swiss Traveling Post Office (TPO) receiving mark on the back dated July 19.

Routing

verso of folded letter

As international mail became more standardized through the Universal Postal Union and rail routes improved, the plethora of markings that show the route decrease.  The only clues we have are the points of origin and destination along with the Ambulant 19 VII 79 243 No 2 Swiss marking on the reverse of the folded letter (see right, you may click on image to see a larger version).  I suspect finding a resource on the Swiss markings might give clues as to which TPO (Traveling Post Office) processed this mail item.

Otherwise, the rail routes via Basel, Pontarlier or Geneva are all possible.  However, the southern route to Geneva seems less likely as that typically served mail that originated in southern France.  Odds are high that it entered Switzerland at Pontarlier.

Lebaudy Freres

The folded letter is a simple bill for product that you'll find for business letters of the period.  Lebaudy Freres (Gustave and Jules) was a very large and successful Sugar Refinery that was located north of Paris.   The two brothers made a significant fortune in this business.  Some of the small tidbits I picked up but could not confirm included a reference to some dubious practices with respect to their workers and the fact that they were significant consumers of gas for the refinery.



Gustave was apparently the head of the company and was also an elected member of the National Assembly from 1876 to 1885.  He was linked to the death of Leon Gambetta in 1882 (whether this was deserved or not was not substantiated as far as I can tell) and lost re-election in 1885.  However, he was again elected in 1889.  Without knowing the details of the situation, it is tempting to point to this as a historical example of the short attention span of the public when it comes to political figures.  One could claim that it was possible that he was never linked to Gambetta's death and the public was now informed of this truth - but it is more likely that the public had simply moved on from the prior 'scandal.'

(information from Henry Coston, "Dictionary of the bourgeois dynasties and the business world" - Editions Alain Moreau, 1975, p.343)

 

It is the next generation that gets more press - and thus it is easier to track down information regarding their exploits.  One of the brothers (Gustave) had two sons who apparently took over the business.  They decided to expand it to include the building of semi-rigid airships.  I suspect the only connection is the fact that the brothers had resources to explore business directions that interested them.  The sugar refinery business continued until it was purchased by the rival Sommier in 1960.

In any event, Paul and Pierre (Gustave's sons) worked with engineer Henri Julliot to build a dirigible that ended up being purchased by the French military in 1904, only a couple years after the first flight.

The publication "Flight" of July 24, 1909 reports that the British government was looking to add dirigibles, including the possibility of ordering some from the LeBaudy's.  This article reports that the French and others were already in possession of airships developed by them.

Mad Jacques

However, if Jules were given the chance to look back and see which of his sons had achieved some degree of fame, he might not be as pleased as Gustave.  Jules' youngest, Jacques, took his inheritance and became the subject of no small amount of mockery.  In 1903, he took 400 mercenaries and claimed a piece of Morocco (near Cape Juby) as his new "Empire of the Sahara." 

He made a 'royal visit' to London later that year and was lampooned by PG Wodehouse.

THE EMPEROR’S SONG. Daily Chronicle, October 2, 1903

The following is the content in the Chronicle:

M. Jacques Lebaudy, “Emperor of the Sahara,” arrived in London on Monday for the purpose of purchasing agricultural implements for his colonists, and is staying at the Savoy Hotel, inaccessible to interviewers and tradesmen. “His Majesty” has been out on several occasions, but always contrives to escape observation.]

The lot of an emperor is one

Your comfort-loving man should shun;

It’s wholly free from skittles, beer,

And other things designed to cheer.

There are worries small, and worries great,

Private worries and worries of state,

But the one that most distresses me

Is the terrible lack of privacy.

It rather tries my temper, for

I’m such a retiring Emperor.

In the Savoy I sit all day

Wishing people would go away;

Cross, disgusted, wrapped in gloom,

I daren’t go out of my sitting-room.

Every minute fresh callers call.

There are men on the stairs and men in the hall,

And I go to the door, and I turn the key,

For everyone of them’s after me.

Which is exasperating for

A rather retiring Emperor.

There are strenuous journalistic crews,

Begging daily for interviews;

There arc camera fiends in tens and scores,

Philanthropists and other bores,

Men who are anxious to sell me hats,

Waistcoats, boots, umbrellas, and spats,

Men who simply yearn to do

Just whatever I want them to.

Which causes me annoyance, for

I’m such a retiring Emperor.

Of course “the compliment implied

Inflates me with legitimate pride,”

But often I feel, as my door I bar,

That they carry their compliments much too far.

That sort of thing becomes a bore

To a really retiring Emperor.

Lebaudy and his family moved to the United States in 1908 or so and he became increasingly erratic.  He threatened the life of his wife and daughter multiple times.  In the end, it was his wife who ended him and it was decided not to press charges against her for it.  According to some sources, the tipping point was Jacques insisting that he needed a male heir by his own daughter.

Like Father Like Son?

Perhaps, the apple did not fall so far from the tree in this case?   It feels a bit as if Jules may have had an inflated sense of self-importance as well?  Jules owned many properties in Paris and was known for stock trading manipulations that may well have contributed to a 'stock crash' in 1882 that led to a significant depression lasting to the end of the decade. (White, Eugene, The Crash of 1882 and the Bailout of the Paris Bourse, Springer-Verlag, 2006.)

Not an Ill Wind

Perhaps the bad can bring about the good?  Jules' wife, Amicie wrote books under the pseudonym William Dall and engaged in some philanthropic activities while her husband lived.  After the crash of 1882 and Jules' death in 1892, Amicie created (anonymously), the Groupe de Maisons Overieres (Workers Housing Group Foundation).  Not only were affordable houses created, it was her goal to create a healthy 'habitat' for those who lived in them.  The foundation was still active as late as 2011 and is likely still in operation today.

Of particular interest is the statement on the foundation's site that Amicie wanted to avoid placing the name "Lebaudy" on the foundation because "Lebaudy was synonymous with money ill-gotten."

Open Questions

1. Is it possible to determine the routing using the Swiss backstamp?

Last Update: 9/24/20