Description
Letter to Thomas Jefferson from Charles Alexandre de Calonne regarding free trade with France, titled Lettre Adressée à M. Jefferson, Ministre Plénipotentiare des États-Unis d’Amérique and published in 1786.
Octavo, 7pp, [1]. Bound at spine, light toning throughout. No wraps. Notes in pencil on page 1, short description in black ink on blank page at end. (Sowerby, 2303) (Lipscomb, XX, 1787) Not found in Evans or Sabin. Two known copies, at Johns Hopkins and the Library of Congress, which is from Jefferson’s personal library.
Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802) was a French statesman and Controller-General of Finances before the French Revolution. His financial polices played a key role in the eventual fall of the French monarchy, being unable to control the growing deficits or garner enough support to raise taxes. He was known as Monsieur Déficit before being dismissed and fleeing to Great Britain in 1787.
