Jacques NECKER / Signed Letter / Autograph / Louis XVI / French Revolution

  

Signed letter "Necker" Paris, July 12, 1790, 1 page. Folio on watermarked laid paper. Small tear at the upper left corner, slight browning at the top margin, central fold. A rare signed piece from Necker in the final weeks of his term as the King’s Minister of Finance. "I have received, gentlemen, with the letter that you honored me by writing, the list of Active Citizens from the Department of the North, and the speeches you delivered at the opening of its electoral assembly.

You reminded the voters of the importance of the choices they were about to make, and of the wise principles that should guide them in such circumstances. I have seen with great satisfaction, in these speeches, the homage of feelings that the King so rightly deserves, and which should inspire all Frenchmen. I kindly ask you, gentlemen, to accept my thanks, and your letter demands special acknowledgment from me, as it is very gracious towards me. I have the honor to be, with sincere attachment, gentlemen, your very humble and very obedient servant." After dismissing him on July 11, 1789, Louis XVI was compelled to recall Necker on the 16th of the same month.

He then took the title of Minister of Finance. Quickly, he opposed the Constituent Assembly, particularly Mirabeau. As the deputies rejected Necker's proposals, based on traditional methods of anticipation and borrowing, Necker opposed financing the deficit through the issuance of assignats. He resigned from his third ministry on September 4, 1790.