Archive of Pierre and Charles-Jean-Baptiste Bruyard, Paris
Archives and archival items, consisting largely of official documents that Pierre Bruyard (1707-1793), chief clerk of the Bureau du Commerce and later director of the Balance du Commerce, and his son Charles-Jean-Baptiste (1753-ca. 1817), affiliated with the Inspection des Manufactures, collected over the course of their careers. The documents relate mainly to the French trade balance in the second half of the 18th century, in particular in various branches of the textile industry. A significant share of this is statistical material.
An inventory of the archives has been compiled by Sandra Bos, Jan Lucassen, and Roger de Peuter, Inventaire de la Collection Bruyard concernant le Bureau (de la Balance) du Commerce et l'Inspection des Manufactures sous l'Ancien Regime (1571-1831) (Amsterdam, 1996) XXXII + 88 pp. The inventory is available online.
The collection comprising 1,300 items has been acquired by NEHA in three separate purchases. The first was in 1928 from the firm Baer in Frankfurt; two other parts were obtained in Paris in 1932 and 1934. Together with documents in the Archives Nationales in Paris and the Fund Monbret in Rouen, they offer a complete overview of French foreign trade in the second half of the 18th century. The documents relating to the Inspection des Manufactures give a unique perspective on the industry and on industrial development in this period.
The collection has long been stored at a French château and has been significantly damaged by moisture. Previously, the beautiful tables with trade balances were restored. In this project, please note the part concerning the Inspection of Manufactures (from no. 295 onwards) and especially the maps and sketches therein.
For more information about Adopt History, please contact: friends@iisg.nl.