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Some Business Partnerships at Lyon, 1785–1793*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2011

George V. Taylor
George V. Taylor
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina
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Extract

The Archives du Rhone at Lyon contain a unique collection of eighteenth-century business records—partnership agreements, merchandise inventories, financial statements, and depositions concerning a variety of commercial houses. Working in these papers, one begins to acquire a clear and detailed idea of the character of French business enterprise, of how business was organized and carried on and commercial capital mobilized at the end of the old regime.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , March 1963 , pp. 46 - 70
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1963

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References

1 Archives du Rhône (hereafter ADR), series IQ, cartons and liasses 773*, 774*, 776—78 (depositions, petitions, and financial statements), and 780 (partnership agreements).

2 These executions lasted several weeks and probably totalled 1,940. Kleinclausz, A., ed., Historic de Lyon (3 vols.; Lyon: 1939-1948), II, 395Google Scholar.

3 Raverat, Baron, Lyon sous la Revolution suivi de la liste des condamnès à mort (Lyon, 1883), pp. 215–62.Google Scholar Mindful of the ambiguities of such lists and hoping that errors have offset one another, I believe that 317 of those named deserve to be called négociants.

4 Charlier and Pocholle, representatives on mission (Lyon) to the Committee of Public Safety (Paris), 7 frimaire, Year III (November 27, 1794), Aulard, F.-A., ed., Recueil des actes du Comité du Salut Public, avec la correspondance officielle des représemants en mission … (28 vols.; Paris, 1889-1948), XVIII, 379–81.Google Scholar Decree of 17 frimaire, Year III (December 7, 1795), Réimpression de l'ancien Moniteur (32 vols.; Paris, 1863–1870), XXII, 696–97.Google Scholar For earlier projects and discussion, see Gerbaux, F. and Schmidt, C., eds., Procès-verbaux des Comités d'Agriculture et de Commerce de la Constituante, de la Législative, et de la Convention (4 vols.; Paris, 1904-1908), IV, 389-90, 394-96, 591–97Google Scholar.

5 Five messidor, Year III (June 23, 1795), “Tableau des inventaires qui ont été présentés jusqu'à ce jour au Bureau de Commerce de Lyon, pour les liquidations,” ADR, IQ 773.

6 Receipts for books submitted to the Bureau show that the larger firms kept specialized journals and counter memoranda as well as ledgers. Talon oncle et André, woolen merchants, kept a journal of petty expenses, a book of cash sales, a purchase journal, a sales journal, a cash book (livre de caisse), a ledger (grand livre de raison), and a livre d'annotation, which may have had to do with merchandise. In other cases we have livres d'ouvriers (for employees' salaries and advances), books of lesser debtors, and other kinds of records. The series B of the ADR contains a mass of unclassified and sometimes unidentifiable journals, ledgers, and other books of account submitted to the Tribunal of Commerce in bankruptcy proceedings.

7 In 1669, 1701, 1765, 1767, 1782, and 1787 the monarchy guaranteed noble maritime and wholesale merchants (négotiants) against derogation for being in trade. Jourdain, , Crusy, De, and Isambert, , eds., Recueil général des anciennes lots français … (29 vols.; Paris, 1822–1833), XX, 400–2.Google ScholarBloch, Camille, “Les cahiers du baillage d'Orléans au point de vue économique,” La Révolution françaisc, XXXIX (1900), 487.Google Scholar Even in the closing years of the old regime merchants were ennobled. At Bordeaux the list includes some Protestants and at least one Jew.

8 In 1789 an unnamed official estimated the négotiants at one thousand, the bourgeois (rentiers and professional men) at two thousand, and the masters of the guilds at ten thousand. Un-signed and undated letter, Archives Nationales, (Paris), B111 75. Estimates of population for Lyon and faubourgs during 1788-1790 range from 130,000 to 150,000, and the census of 1801 showed 109,500 for the city alone.

9 Archives of the Banque Guérin, ADR, series 2F. Active correspondence begins only with July 6, 1792, but there are 19,646 pieces of passive correspondence (some foreign) for 1774-1791 and 46,453 (many foreign) for 1792-1800.

10 The agreement of Veuve Delafont fils et Joyard, Appendix i in this article, is representative of the others.

11 The only exceptions to the prevalence of the partnership in French merchant capitalism were the chartered joint-stock trading companies organized under auspices of the court, like the two Indies Companies. The primary aim of the management was for the most part to profit from speculating in the company shares, and the maritime merchants resented these creations as the encroachment of court and financial interests upon their trading privileges. It was not until 1789 that attempts were made by French merchants to supersede the partnership with something larger and more complex. On January i, 1789, Senn-Bidermann et Cie., a société en commandite with a capital of 4,500,000 livres, began operations. The capital was represented by forty-five shares of 100,000 each, but these could not be sold on die market. In April a number of Protestant merchants and bankers formed the Sociéte Maritime to carry on the Indian trade. Although ostensibly a société en commandite, it was really a société par actions, because its two hundred shares of 30,000 livres each were considered vendible. Joint-stock companies were sponsored by financiers and bankers interested in speculating in government loans and joint-stock shares. Private companies of shareholders were formed by country proprietors who wished to exploit coal and iron mines, canals, and chemical and glass works. Both these sectors were disjunct from the economic and social group we are dealing with in this article. Lévy-Bruhl, Henri, Histoire juridique des sociétés de commerce en France aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles (Paris, 1938), pp. 30 ff.Google ScholarRouff, Marcel, Les mines de charbon en France au XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1922), pp. 243–73Google Scholar.

12 The société en commandite was legitimized in the Code de Commerce of March 1673, and Savary, one of the authors of that code, defined it as a partnership in which one or more principals exercise management rights widi unlimited responsibility, while one or more others renounce management rights for the protection of limited liability. Some of the commandites mentioned here have no “managing partners” and are in disagreement with the law, but apparently this caused no trouble. Savary, Jacques, Le parfait négociant (2 vols.; Paris, 1777), I, 346.Google Scholar One purpose was to render it easier for nobles to participate in commerce. Since the fortune of the limited-liability partner was not at stake, creditors had no need of knowing his identity, which could be concealed.

13 The interests were: (1) for Granier 150,000 livres, seven twentieths of the profits; (2) for Renouard, 40,000 livres, six twentieths of the profits; (3) for Longue, Pelegrin, et Vieulletton, 100,000 livres, seven twentieths of the profits.

14 Poidebard, Robert, La vie agitée d'lmbert Colomès, premier échevin et commandant de la vittc de Lyon en 1789 (Lyon, 1942)Google Scholar.

15 Larue, Jean, Bibliothèque des négociants (quatrième édition revue & corrigée par l'auteur; Lyon, 1749), p. 570Google Scholar.

18 Ibid., p. 527.

17 Wahl, Maurice, “Joseph Chalier,” Revue histonque, XXXIV (1887), 1–30Google Scholar.

18 Commercial textbooks, like Larue's cited above, are filled mainly with arithmetical problems in determining exchange rates, prices, costs, in dozens of measuring and monetary systems. See for example Ricard, Samuel, Traité général du commerce (revised and reorganized edition, 2 vols.; Amsterdam, 1781)Google Scholar.

19 The word inventaire meant an inventory of all accounts and not merely of the merchandise. Each statement was headed with such an inscription as this: “Inventaire général des dettes actives & passives du Commerce exercé à Lyon sous la Raison de Fels ainé & F.ois [François] Barral & Cie.” Or “Inventaire général des dettes actives et passives du commerce de Jn. Bte. [Jean-Baptiste] Gubian et fils fabricants en etoffes de soyes…” The assets, whether cash, notes, merchandise, or accounts receivable, are called “Dettes Actives,” “Débiteurs,” or simply the “Actif.” Liabilities and capital, all the claims against the assets, are called “Dettes Passives,” “Créditeurs,” “Créanciers,” or simply the “Passif.”

20 The problems include the honesty of the “expert arbiters,” evaluation of assets that have disappeared, evaluation of goods by 1793 free prices, 1793-1794 maximum prices, or 1795 prices, and the influence of erratic exchange rates on the value of commercial paper and accounts.

21 Clincaillerie is distinct from quincaillerie, or hardware. The inventory of Baudet, Burtin & Dumenge, also merchants in clincaillerie, included snuff boxes, ink stands, portfolios, napkins, furred gloves, buckles, chisels, table knives, pocket knives a large variety of other metal products, hunting flasks, epaulettes, women's guilded collars, razors, and other items. This inventory, which is admittedly indeterminate, will serve in lieu of a definition.

22 Willermoz, the condamné, took a leading part in local affairs during the siege. ADR, 42L 12 (p. 368), 13 (p. 68), 15 (p. 162). His brother, J.-B. Willermoz, also a négociant, was a leading Freemason of Lyon. The physician P.-J. Willermoz was a theoretician of Freemasonry and illuminisme. See Joly, Alice, Pierre-Jacques Willermoz (1735-1799) (Lyon, 1938)Google Scholar, and Un mystique lyonnais et les secrets de la franc-maçonnerie (1730-1824) (Macon, 1938)Google Scholar.

23 Contrary to American accounting usage, accounts are listed in the order of appearance in the ledgers, so that in the original passif the capital and partners' accounts normally appeared first.

24 “Mémoire présenté a l'Assemblée nationale par la Chambre de Commerce de Lyon contre remission dcs billets de la Caisse d'Escompte dans la ditte Ville.” Written by Imbert-Colomès and adopted by the Chamber for distribution. Archives de la Chambre de Commerce de Lyon, Délibérations de la Chambre de Commerce (manuscript register), proceedings of February 5, 1790.

25 Bibliothèque des négotiants, p. 533.

26 On the import of Spanish silver and its sale in central Europe see Dermigny, L., “Circuits de l'argent et milieux d'affaires au XVIIIe siede,” Revue historiquc, CCXII (1954), 239–78Google Scholar.

27 None of the standard operating accounts is listed among those explained by De la Porte in La science des négocians et teneurs de livres (nouvelle édition; Amsterdam, 1787). Neither sales, cost of sales, depreciation expense, nor obsolescence existed as accounts, although expenses such as wages and rent were closed to profit and loss. Ordinarily merchants kept separate accounts for each type of merchandise or speculation, determining from die inventory and closing entries how much they had made or lost in each line.

28 Bergasse, Louis, Un défenseur des principes traditionnels sous la Révolution, Nicolas Bergasse (Paris, 1910)Google Scholar.

29 In March 1794, August Journu testified before the Commission Militaire de Bordeaux that at the beginning of the Revolution he and his brother had 1,400,000 livres in their partnership, Journu frères. It was pointed out to him that in a letter of September 17, 1791, to Grenfell and Williams of London he had claimed a capital of more than four million. He then admitted to having doubled his fortune “ideally” in order to augment his credit. Archives Départementales de la Gironde, 12L 18. The smaller figure was no doubt correct. The Commission had Journu's books, and clerks and bookkeepers friendly to the Terrorists would be able to interpret them.

30 April 25, 1790, “Role du Premier et Second Vingtième et Quatre Sols pour Iivre du Premier Vingtième d'industrie de Messieurs les Armateurs, Assureurs, Banquiers, et Commissionnaires pour l'annćc mil sept cent quatre vingt dix…” Archives Départementales de la Gironde, 4L 239. The four syndics were listed among the partnerships and individuals comprised in the role. Assessments ranged from diree to 349 livres.

31 Circular letter of the Chamber of Commerce of Bordeaux to all other French chambers of commerce, January 13, 1790, Archives Départementales de la Gironde, C 4266, p. 167. See in the same sense die resolution of the Corps de Commerce of Toulouse, November 5, 1789. They asked the King and the National Assembly “…to dispense them from unveiling the secrecy of their fortunes and their affairs by individual declarations.” Archives de la Chambre de Commerce de Toulouse, Registre des deliberations du Corps du Commerce, E 1325, minutes for the date cited.

32 Sentou, Jean, “Faillites et commerce à Toulouse en 1789,” Annales historiques de la Révolution francaise, XXV (1953), 255Google Scholar.

33 Gille, Bertrand, Recherches sur la formation de la grande entreprise capitaliste (1813-1848) (Paris, 1959), 163Google Scholar.

34 This was one of the four quarterly clearances in which Lyon merchants settled accounts with one another. It was a local custom that determined the rhythm of the business year and was unknown in other French cities. The payments were called “Rois” (March 1), “Paques" (June 1), “Aout” (September 1), and “Toussaints” or “Saints” (December 1). Maturities of drafts, loans, and deposits at Lyon were scheduled according to this calendar.

35 According to the Commercial Code of 1673, all merchants were required to keep accounts which, if signed and numbered by the consuls or the aldermen, had standing as legal evidence.According to Article III, “The Journal Books will be written in a single sequence, by order of date, without any white space, closed in each chapter and at the end, and nothing will be written on the margins.” Porte, De la, La science des nigocians et teneurs de livres, p. viiiGoogle Scholar.

36 Since there were twenty sols in the livre and twelve deniers in the sol, a one-third interest would be six sols, eight deniers, and it was customary to put it this way.