The Book in the Painting:
De la Caisse d'Escompte
The book De la Caisse d'Escompte (also called a pamphlet) depicted in the painting contained an analysis of the French financial institution known as the Caisse d'Escompte (Discount Bank).1 The primary author, Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau (generally referred to as "Mirabeau"), and his coauthors used this publication to condemn the fiscal policy of the state as going against the interest of the public.2 The work analyzed the unfortunate consequences of this monopoly—accurately predicting that Caisse d'Escompte was a speculative venture destined to collapse.3 It was among the influential literature critical of the French government in the years leading up to the French Revolution.
The bank, which operated from 24 March 17764 to 4 August 1793,5 bought loans at a discount. Its founding was seen as the first step toward putting into place a banking system following the example of the system described by Adam Smith in 1776 in The Wealth of Nations.6 One of its purposes was to grant loans to the French government to help cover debts from France's support of the American Revolution.7 After several successful years it became a monopoly and started to grant too many loans to the government, accompanied by excessive note issues.8
De la Caisse d'Escompte was written in London, printed in Bouillon, Belgium, on 17 May 1785, and smuggled into France.9 Mirabeau realized that the book would be controversial and explained that he was forced to publish it abroad before taking it into France, whose borders were "always so well guarded by the enemies of liberty and truth."10
Although Mirabeau was the primary author, several of the chapters were written by others who would eventually have important roles as the French Revolution approached. In his memoirs, Jacques-Pierre Brissot de Warville wrote that he gave Mirabeau chapters 7 and 8, that another chapter had been composed by Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, and that the rest was from Étienne Clavière.11 12
Potential Significance of De la Caisse d'Escompte and Its Authors to Thomas Jefferson
Other Works by Mirabeau of Importance to Jefferson
References and notes
[1] A History of Banking in all the Leading Nations, Vol. III (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Canada), edited by the Editor of the Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin, New York, 1896; Chapter III, "The Discount Bank—La Caisse D'Escompte."
[2] Richard Whatmore & James Livesey, "Étienne Clavière, Jacques-Pierre Brissot and the intellectual origins of Girondin politics," Annales historique de la Révolution française, #321, July-September 2000.
[3] Philippe Nataf, "La libre concurrence bancaire en France (1796-1803)."
[4] Le Comte de Mirabeau, De la Caisse d'Escompte, 1785, p. 127.
[6] Philippe Nataf, "La libre concurrence bancaire en France (1796-1803)."
[7] A History of Banking in all the Leading Nations, Vol. III (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Canada), edited by the Editor of the Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin, New York, 1896; Chapter III, "The Discount Bank—La Caisse D'Escompte." See also Franklin L. Ford, Europe 1780-1830, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., New York, 1970, p. 98.
[8] Roy Davies & Glyn Davies, "A Comparative Chronology of Money: Monetary History from Ancient Times to the Present Day (1750 – 1799)."
[9] Antonina Vallentin, Mirabeau, translated by E.W. Dickes, The Viking Press, New York, 1948, p. 214.
[10] Le Comte de Mirabeau, De la Caisse d'Escompte, 1785, p. 207.
[11] Richard Whatmore & James Livesey, "Étienne Clavière, Jacques-Pierre Brissot and the intellectual origins of Girondin politics," Annales historique de la Révolution française, #321, July-September 2000. See also Jacques Brissot, J.-P. Brissot: Mémoires (1734-1793) publiés avec étude critique et notes par Cl. Perroud (Volume 2), Librairie Alphonse Picard & Fils, Paris, 1911, p. 31.
[12] Jacques Pierre Brissot de Warville informed Thomas Jefferson that he planned to move with his wife and children to the United States. But, after becoming a leading member of the Girondist movement during the French Revolution and a household name in France because of his political journalism, he was executed on 31 October 1793. Étienne Clavière became Minister of Finance for the Girondists but—facing execution—committed suicide on 8 December 1793. After rising to prominence as president of the National Assembly and then narrowly escaping execution, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours relocated with his family from France to the United States, where he retained his close ties to Thomas Jefferson during Jefferson's presidency. In 1802, du Pont originated the idea of the Louisiana Purchase and was enlisted by Jefferson to help negotiate the transaction with France. His son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont founded E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, one of America's largest corporations.
[13] The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 21, edited by Julian P. Boyd, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1983: Index to correspondence with Brissot (pp. 62-63), Clavière (p. 101), Dupont (p. 155), and Mirabeau (p. 357).
[14] Jefferson's Memorandum Books—Accounts, with Legal Records and Miscellany, 1767-1826, Volume 1, edited by James A. Bear, Jr., and Lucia C. Stanton, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1997, p. 591, footnote 78.
[15] Le Comte de Mirabeau, De la Caisse d'Escompte, 1785, p. 221.
[16] Jefferson's Memorandum Books—Accounts, with Legal Records and Miscellany, 1767-1826, Volume 1, edited by James A. Bear, Jr., and Lucia C. Stanton, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1997, p. 584, footnote 56.
[17] Antonina Vallentin, Mirabeau, translated by E.W. Dickes, The Viking Press, New York, 1948, p. 86.
[18] Carl Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin, The Viking Press, New York, NY, 1938, pp. 709-710.
[19] Considerations on the Order of Cincinnatus…translated from the French of the Count de Mirabeau, printed for J. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-Yard, MDCC.LXXX.V. [1785], p. 27, footnote 1 (which quotes from the United States Declaration of Independence and references its entirety).
[20] Benjamin Franklin provided Cincinnatus materials to Mirabeau during a meeting at Franklin's residence in Passy, France, that took place on 13 July 1784. Eight weeks later, on 8 September 1784, Franklin wrote a letter to Benjamin Vaughan that was instrumental in helping Mirabeau find a publisher in London for "his dangerous book." (See Carl Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin, The Viking Press, New York, NY, 1938, p. 710.)
[21] Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, Volume III, compiled with annotations by E. Millicent Sowerby, University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1983, pp. 229-231.
[22] Ibid., p. 295.
[23] Antonina Vallentin, Mirabeau, translated by E.W. Dickes, The Viking Press, New York, 1948, p. 202.
[24] The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 7, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1953, pp. 630-631.