Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de

Autograph letter in French signed ("Caron de Beaumarchais"), 4 pages, 4to (9 x 7 3/8 in.; 229 x 190 mm), Paris, 17 April 1783, to the Comte de Vergennes, President of the Council of Finance, urgently requesting a settlement of his claims stemming from his activities in support of the War of Independence in order to fend off his creditors; a few expert repairs along central fold. Cream moiré cloth folding case, burnt orange morocco spine, maroon morocco lettering pieces. Together with: Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. Requête à Messieurs les Représentants de la Commune de Paris. Paris: Chez Maradan, 1789. 4to (9 3/8 x 7 1/8 in.; 238 x 181 mm). Minor dampstaining along top margin, light occasional toning. Modern blue wrappers.  

Notes & Queries, 6th Ser. Vol. VII, No. 158 (6 January 1883), pp. 1–3 (the original French text with an English translation)

The despairing dramatist and entrepreneur Beaumarchais appeals from his sickbed to Count Vergennes, then the President of the Council of Finance, for his assistance in staving off Beaumarchais's creditors. "The mortification to see myself at last so hard pressed [for money], and the inability to resolve anything regarding my wretched complaints, and my liabilities now due, have deprived me of my peace of mind. Then to top things off, this fever comes at the worst possible moment, and on Saturday I must pay a sum that I don't at all possess, or can raise by then. M. D'Ormesson, although full of good will towards me, wishes for your support before coming to my aid, and now, just at the moment when I have the greatest need to go to you and ask you for this justice as a special favor, I am laid low in my sick bed. ... In the name of honor, and of your good will, write, my Lord, to M. D'Ormesson and tell him that there is no objection to giving me the payment on account, with a statement of which I have furnished him; it is only the amount which I am obliged to pay. And please  add that it is indispensable that he should carry out a prompt examination and settlement of my claims."

Under the direction of Vergennes, Beaumarchais established a fictitious company, Roderique Hortalez & Cie, in 1776 to supply covert military aid to the Americans. In return the Americans were to pay for supplies in products such as rice and tobacco, which Beaumarchais would sell in France. He was to assume any losses and was entitled to any profit. His return was zero: he received neither cargo nor any money from Congress. Seizure of some of his vessels had cost Beaumarchais more than 800,000 francs and the publicity of his losses had brought his creditors down on him. Vergennes came to Beaumarchais's relief with three large loans totaling over a million livres. D'Ormesson was appointed comptroller general of finances on 29 March 1783, but his incompetence due to his young age and inexperience led to his dismissal several months later. In spite of Beaumarchais's dramatic appeal, when his firm closed in 1783, it showed a modest profit.  In 1835, after decades of disputes with Beaumarchais and his heirs about the finances and whether the U.S. owed Beaumarchais or vice versa, the U.S. paid his heirs 800,000 francs .