Keywords: Rue Notre-Dame, Fiscal Stamp, France, Aid Paper, Brown Ink, Archival Ephemera, 18th Century, Municipal History, Real Estate Valuation, Legal Document

Summary:
An original French Revolutionary-era architectural and real-estate appraisal, or procès-verbal d’estimation, handwritten in brown ink on laid paper and dated during Year IV of the French Republic. The document opens with the formal declaration, “L’an quatrième de la République française, le vingt-deux germinal,” corresponding to April 11, 1796.

Prepared in Lille, Département du Nord, the manuscript records the official valuation of a residential property consisting of a house, garden, basse-cour or service courtyard, and associated land situated on Rue Notre-Dame. The premises are identified within the document by the numbers 6 and 425. The property is stated to belong to Citizen Charles Albert Defaucompret, with the residence occupied by a woman identified as the widow Bouvier-Malthon.

The manuscript describes the property’s physical limits, adjoining holdings, rear access, doors, fixed fittings, courtyard areas, walls, easements, rights of passage and other appurtenances considered in determining its value. It specifically excludes mirrors and movable furnishings belonging to the occupant. Following inspection and consideration of the property, the experts establish a valuation of 22,250 livres tournois, prominently written near the conclusion of the report.

The instrument appears to have been prepared in duplicate and concludes with the traditional legal formula “En foi de quoi…” or “In witness whereof,” followed by a statement that the report was drawn up and signed in Lille. It appears to have been finalized on the twenty-fifth day of the same Republican month and year, shortly after the initial inspection date.

Antique condition consistent with approximately 230 years of age.

Measurement: 9 3/4 x 7 1/2 in. (24.8 x 19.1 cm.) approx

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