LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Treasure

Historical Inquiry – Assignment III

Bernardo Miethe

MUS 7800

10/27/2013

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In a box containing eight folders full of old documents, I looked at artifacts relating to

conductors Louis Hasselmans (LSU professor of music 1936-1948) and his grandfather Joseph

Hasselmans. One by one, I inspected how intriguing they were to me. The last artifact in the last

folder, buried, I found this interesting piece of yellow fragile paper. A treasure (literally and

figuratively); a French Treasury note for 10,000 francs. I had seen something like it before (on a

Sherlock Holmes movie1). A 19th century version of paper money. A conundrum formed in my

mind. Why would this much money be left behind on a collection? How did Joseph Hasselmans

obtain it? Why did he never spend it? Moreover, it inspired a search in me of how much money

did a musician make in the late 19th century France and how was this bill made.

There it was, protected in a clear plastic folder, the paper equivalent for 10,000 francs

(about 200 19th century dollars and $2,658.67 at today’s rates2). It had seen better days, and it

bore the signs of aging, but it was in a relatively good state for a 117 year-old document (aside

from a minuscule whole on the right side of it). Its edges were rugged. It had clearly been folded

twice, perhaps to fit Mr. Hasselmans coat pocket. The document’s dimensions were 9 inches by

6.5 inches. It had that brown look that old documents have. This is due to a polymer named

Lignin. Paper is made, mainly, of white cellulose; but small quantities of Lignin always end up

in all paper. Over time, the exposure to sunlight and oxygen make the lignin molecules less

stable, which produces the darker color.3

1 Johnson, Michael Robert; Peckham, Anthony, Sherlock Holmes, Directed by Guy Ritchie, Los Angeles: Warner

Bros. 2009. 2 Cunningham, Hugo S. “Gold and Silver Standards,” http://www.cyberussr.com/hcunn/gold-std.html#france

;Friedman, Morgan, “The Inflation Calculator ,” http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ 3 Magnus, Paulsson; Ragauskas, Arthur, “Chemical modification of lignin-rich paper. Part 8, Effect of light source

on accelerated light-induced yellowing of untreated and acetylated high-yield pulps,” Institute of Paper Science

Technology: 1998, https://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/handle/1853/1906/tps-719.pdf?sequence=1

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The verso of the document (Figure 1) was, at some point in time, a blank sheet of paper.

Currently, all the features of the recto are visible through its back. I quickly looked at all of the

other documents and concluded something I knew empirically; this is a feature of old paper. It

either thins out or the ink runs to the back, but all the documents had this same characteristic of

apparent transparency. The other characteristic that I found interesting was that there were two

small embossed seals (dry seals).4 The first one was 1 inch in diameter (Figure 2) and the second

one was 1.25 inches in diameter (Figure 3). The last characteristic that stands out from the verso

is the red ink on the right side of the paper (Figure 4), which is obviously ink that was printed on

the verso of the paper because it bears the same design as the front of the document. The

interesting aspect of this feature is that the color red does not appear on the front of the document

(Figure 5). The only way to make the red ink visible from the front of the document is by looking

at the document in back lighting (Figure 6 shows this less well than an in-person view). My

impression is that the design was printed on the front with red ink first and painted over with

black ink, making it visible only with the aid of light (an archaic form of bill water-marking). It

is visible on the back now because the paper has deteriorated and the ink has become visible on

the verso.

4 Sandrock, John, “Bank Notes of the French Revolution,” Currency Collector,

http://www.thecurrencycollector.com/pdfs/BankNotesoftheFrenchRevolutionPartII.pdf

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Figure 1. Verso of the artifact.

Figure 2. Right seal. Figure 3. Left seal.

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Figure 4. Verso of black seal.

Figure 5. Recto of black seal.

Figure 6. The recto of the seal through backlighting. The red watermark is now visible.

The recto of the document is much more interesting (Figure 7). Beginning with the words

“République Française,” the document translates as follows: “French Republic” with the amount

of money that this note is valued in between both words. Then it reads, “Assigning of ten

thousand francs.” The next phrase requires a little more explanation: “créé le 18 Nivôse l’an 3eme

de la République.” “Nivôse,” which comes from the old French Republic Calendar (also called

the French Revolutionary Calendar) represents the “snowy” month, from December 21 to

January 19.5 We can, therefore deduce that the document refers to January 9. The expression

translates as follows: “created on January 9th, 3rd year of the Republic (1795).6 After that, there

come the formalities of money: one signature and the number of this printed money (223). On

5 Oxford Dictionaries, “Nivose,” http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/Nivose 6 Stanford University Libraries, “French Revolution Digital Archive,” http://171.67.35.209/en/catalog/cd850pq0521

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Figure 7. Recto of the artifact.

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the bottom border there are two phrases: “La Nation Récompense le Dénonciateur” on the left

(The Nation Rewards the Whistleblower) and “La Loi Punit de Mort le Contrefacteur” on the

right (the law punishes the infringer with death). These warn people not to make false bills on

one side and explaining that those who let the authorities know of someone who has falsified a

bill will be rewarded. In between these two phrases there is the year in which the bill was printed

-- “1896 series.” The borders of the note resemble an ornate fireplace.7 On each side, there are

two columns that are held upright by 2 pairs of feet and on top of them there are two faces (man

and female). The man is Mercury, the Roman god of financial gain;8 the woman is Dionysus, the

Greek goddess of grapes and wine.9 Both columns have a staff in them. The right one is

decorated with flowers and the left one has a cloth wrapped around the bottom and two snakes

weaving and tied on the top (not quite a caduceus though). Above the right column there is an

antiquated hat while the left one has a kind of metronome or ruler of sorts.

On the left border of the bill there is a black seal bearing phrase “REPUBLIQUE

FRANCAISE” (Figure 8) and a different bill that I found on the National Library of Paris’

website is oriented differently (Figure 9). It appears to be a stamp that doesn’t have a specific

direction. This second bill also bears a different signature and was printed on the 811 series. On

both sides of this stamp there are the decorated watermarks. The watermark that appears on the

7 Sandrock, John, “Bank Notes of the French Revolution,” Currency Collector,

http://www.thecurrencycollector.com/pdfs/BankNotesoftheFrenchRevolutionPartII.pdf. 8 Lindemans, Micha, “Mercury,” Encyclopedia Mythica, 1997, http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mercury.html 9 Gross, Rachel; and Grote, Dale, “Dionysus,” Encyclopedia Mythica, 2007,

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/dionysus.html

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left side reads “Republique Francaise – Liberte Ou La Mort” (French Republic – Freedom or

Death) and “Surete-Union- A L’Identique” (Confidence and Union are the Same).10

Figure 8. The phrase Republique Francaise is cut in the middle to form: PUBLIQUEFR.

Figure 9. Different version of the bill.

Lastly, one of the most interesting details of this bill are the two invisible seals on either

side of the signature. They are pressure stamps (embossed seals) produced with a mirrored image

on metal. The right pressure-stamp (Figure 10) is of a man wearing a peculiar hat (the same hat

10 Sandrock, John, “Bank Notes of the French Revolution,” Currency Collector,

http://www.thecurrencycollector.com/pdfs/BankNotesoftheFrenchRevolutionPartII.pdf

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seen on the top-right corner). He is lifting his right arm to the heavens and grabbing a staff with

his left arm. The left pressure-stamp (Figure 11) has two women wearing robes holding hands

and looking inward and a man in the middle of it. The man has a bare chest and only his privates

are covered. He is holding some kind of long rod with his right hand, a spear maybe. The woman

on the left also holds this spear and the woman on the right is holding what appears to be a ruler

(the same ruler that appears on the top-left corner). Above this trio, there is the inscription “Le

Peuple Souverain” (the sovereign people).

Figure 10. Closer look at the right-dry seal.

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Figure 11. Closer look at the left-dry seal.

In order to contrast how money, specifically francs, changed over time; I looked for more

information about franc bills. I found images of one of the first francs (1926 and 1999). These

were printed on modern paper-money, which is a more resistant paper that endures longer. This

modern paper was made by mixing cotton with different textiles, usually linen. The most

distinctive differences between the old and “new” banknotes are that the new bills are much

smaller and they are also more colorful due to improvements in printing techniques (Figures 12

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and 13).11 Moreover, the watermarks on the new bills are much more intricately designed, with

sometimes a face appearing as watermark and not just the black letters turning red because it was

double printed.

Figure 12. Ten francs from 1926. Figure13. Fifty francs from 1999.

It also seems practical why these new bills are smaller because the large 10,000 franc banknote

had to be folded in order to fit in someone’s pocket. These smaller bills can fit someone’s pocket

with more ease.

How was this artifact printed? First of all, who draw its design? How was it mass

produced? My initial research had lead me to the Stanford University French Revolution Digital

Archive. Here I learned that the engraver of this bill was Nicolas Marie Gatteaux (1751-1832).

Gatteaux also designed nine other bills in the late 1700s.12 He made medallions/medals and

designed stamps as well as lottery tickets. Looking for the process in which this paper note was

printed was more elusive. By looking at three different 10,000 francs notes, I was able to note

that they were all identical (with the exceptions of the signatures and the series numbers). This

meant that they were using an advanced printing technique. The easiest way to deduce its

11 World Bank Notes, France, http://www.banknotes.com/fr.htm 12 Stanford University Libraries, “French Revolution Digital Archive,”

http://171.67.35.209/en/catalog?q=%22Gatteaux%2C+Nicolas+Marie%22

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technique was its printing date (1795); therefore, it was earlier than lithography (1796). My best

guess is that it was made using an old-fashioned (1500s) printing press. The other options may

have been Mezzotint or Aquatint, but this required longer periods of time to produce. The

printing press seems to be the best method for printing this bill. They may have used a separate

press to print the watermarks since they required two separate colors.

How did Joseph Hasselmans obtain this money? The first idea that came to my mind was,

if I can find the circulation dates for this bill, maybe I can compare that to Hasselmans’ life. I

had been misled by the Stanford University French Revolution Archive into thinking that this

kind of bill was in circulation only in the late 18th century. If that was the case, that would have

lead me to believe that this artifact may have been a relic or heirloom that Joseph Hasselmans

(1815-1902) possessed. I quickly turned to the artifact and realized that this particular note had

been printed in the late 1896 (when Joseph was 81 years old).

Why did he never spend this large sum of money? My next endeavor was to find more

about Hasselmans life in order to see if I could pin-point his location/actions of his last eight

years of his life. In the Grove Music Online I found a small biography of his life indicating that

he was the first director of the Strasbourg conservatory and that he was one of the great

pedagogues of double-harp playing, but nothing about his last years.13 I also searched in six

different editions of the Baker’s Biographical Dictionaries. His grandson, Louis, is mentioned in

five of them but there is no entry for Joseph. I continued searching through multiple databases

and books in search of Joseph Hasselmans with no luck. I did manage to find some interesting

13Grove Music Online, Josef H. Hasselmans,

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/12523pg1?q=josef+hasselmans

&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit

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information about him and his family’s life.14 Joseph invented the new Erard harp, a 19th century

pioneer-manufacturer of harps and pianos. I also found out that Gabriel Fauré had an affair with

Marguerite Hasselmans (Joseph’s granddaughter) and that Louis Hasselmans (grandson) earned

the Premier Prix at the Paris conservatory when he was 15, which lead to Fauré dedicating his

first cello sonata to Louis.

There are other ways of looking at this artifact. What if this bill had sentimental value for

Joseph? If this bill represented an important event in his life, that might be the reason why he

never spent it. What if he was saving this for an important occasion, but instead of saving it at a

bank, he was saving it at home? I tried putting myself in his shoes. What would I do if I had

$2,600? I would probably buy a new flute. Was he saving to buy a new harp? Could this be the

heirloom he would leave his family after passing? If that’s the case, why didn’t Alphonse (son),

Louis (grandson), or Marguerite (granddaughter) ever spend it? Could it be that this bill went out

of circulation before they were ever able to exchange it? Or maybe Joseph had enough money

that he did not need to spend it. This last theory is the one that I think might be the correct one

because he must have received this in the final years of his live. Moreover, Joseph had a very

long and successful career which is why I think he did not need to use this money at the end of

his life. I looked for incomes of musicians in the late 19th century France with no luck. The

closest I got to finding this was the economic growth of France, which can help us understand

society better. France followed England closely with a great economic boom during the 19th

century.15 France wasn’t quite as successful as England, but its society managed to enjoy a lot

more wealth than ever before. Moreover, if society has more money and more free time, they

14 Dunoyer, Cecilia, “Marguerite Long – A Life in French Music,” 1993. 15 O'Brien, Patrick Karl, and Çağlar Keyder. Economic growth in Britain and France, 1780-1914 : two paths to the

twentieth century / Patrick O'Brien and Caglar Keyder. n.p.: London ; Boston : G. Allen & Unwin, 1978., 1978.

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will most likely spend it on entertainment and classical music was a good way for this expansion

to take place. Therefore, it is safe to assume that a French musician like Joseph Hasselmans

enjoyed the benefits of this economic expansion that occurred in the 19th century. This might be

the reason why he didn’t feel the need of spending this bill.

In conclusion, my research for this artifacts led me to very interesting and new ways of

looking at the life of a musician in the 19th century. I was also able to learn about the production

of money in its infancy. Moreover, I learned about Joseph Hasselman and his family. Many

different sources of this information were compiled into one work.

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Bibliography

Bank of England. Banknote production.

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/pages/about/production.aspx

Cunningham, Hugo S; “Gold and Silver Standards,” http://www.cyberussr.com/hcunn/gold-

std.html#france

Dunoyer, Cecilia. Marguerite Long – A Life in French Music. Cecilia Dunoyer: 1993.

Fitch, Thomas P. 2000. Dictionary of Banking Terms. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational

Series, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).

Friedman, Morgan; “The Inflation Calculator ,” http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

Gross, Rachel; Grote, Dale. “Dionysus,” Encyclopedia Mythica: 2007.

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/dionysus.html

Grove Music Online, Josef H. Hasselmans,

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/125

23pg1?q=josef+hasselmans&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit

Johnson, Michael Robert; Peckham, Anthony. Sherlock Holmes. Directed by Guy Ritchie. Los

Angeles: Warner Bros. 2009.

Lindemans, Micha. “Mercury” Encyclopedia Mythica: 1997.

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mercury.html

Louis Hasselmans Papers, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, Louisiana State

University (11:10; U:156; Mss.Mf:H).

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Magnus, Paulsson; Ragauskas, Arthur. Chemical modification of lignin-rich paper. Part 8, Effect

of light source on accelerated light-induced yellowing of untreated and acetylated high-

yield pulps. Institute of Paper Science Technology: 1998.

https://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/handle/1853/1906/tps-719.pdf?sequence=1

National Library of France, scanned records, http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8412433q

O'Brien, Patrick Karl, and Çağlar Keyder. Economic growth in Britain and France, 1780-1914 :

two paths to the twentieth century / Patrick O'Brien and Caglar Keyder. n.p.: London ;

Boston : G. Allen & Unwin, 1978., 1978.

Oxford Dictionaries, “Nivose,”

http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/Nivose

Sandrock, John “Bank Notes of the French Revolution,” Currency Collector,

http://www.thecurrencycollector.com/pdfs/BankNotesoftheFrenchRevolutionPartII.pdf

Stanford University Libraries, “French Revolution Digital Archive,”

http://171.67.35.209/en/catalog/cd850pq0521

World Bank Notes. France. http://www.banknotes.com/fr.htm