176 - BEAUMARCHAIS (Pierre-Augustin Caron de), 1732–1799.

BEAUMARCHAIS (Pierre-Augustin Caron de), 1732–1799. Letter from the author “Caron de Beaumarchais,” Paris, May 20, 1772, 2 pp., small quarto in brown ink: He hopes his correspondent is in better health and eagerly awaits his reply and the letter of credit for the sum of 2,000 francs. He warns him about the delay in the inventories and financial reports, which is irritating Mr. Pernon. “Mr. the Major” also regularly demands repayment of the 100 écus advanced “for the trip he made on behalf of the Company upon your arrival in Quincay.” With a postscript: “Tell me something in your letters about the forests of [?], the state of the logging operations, and the Nantes navy.” It is thus the businessman who emerges here through this letter from the spring of 1772. For several years, in partnership with his patron Pâris-Duverney, he had been engaged in a vast enterprise to manage the Chinon forest, covering more than 2,000 arpents. Quinçay, near Rivarennes in Touraine, was one of the centers of this activity, which Beaumarchais monitored closely: logging operations, employees, accounting, and the sale of timber. The venture, hampered in particular by inclement weather and difficulties in finding markets, continued into the early 1770s. Beaumarchais then sought to sell part of his timber to the shipyards in Nantes, which explains the postscript. This activity took place while Beaumarchais was embroiled in a lawsuit against the Count of La Blache, heir to Pâris-Duverney. In fact, in February and March 1772, he had just secured favorable rulings regarding the settlement of his accounts with the financier. The case, which was appealed, would lead the following year to the sensational Goëzman trial, which would contribute significantly to his fame. Includes its original cultural property export certificate from the Ministry of Culture.