An authentic late 19th-century French banking letter sheet and matching postal cover issued by Banque et Recouvrements E. Chassaing & Cie, Toulouse, dated 30 April 1877. The folded financial document features a typography header from the firm's Rue Saint-Rome address, a detailed debit/credit account statement in fine copperplate script, and a blue 10-centime French fiscal stamp (Quittances, Reçus). Accompanied by its original addressed envelope bearing a blue 25-centime French postage stamp (Type Sage/Ceres era), struck with a circular date postmark (Toulouse, Haute-Garonne) and showing the Saint-Gaudens receiving mark on the reverse dated 2 May 1877. The group also includes a second French postal cover from 1889 (Sète/Cette to Pézenas).

Historical & Style Details

• Subject / Sitter / Source: Financial bordereau and commercial correspondence
• Artist / Maker / Author: E. Chassaing & Cie, Banque et Recouvrements, Toulouse
• Period: Victorian (1837–1901) / French Third Republic
• Origin: France
• Material / Technique: Iron gall ink, letterpress printing on paper, adhesive postage and fiscal stamps
• Markings: Printed heading "E. CHASSAING & CIE / 21, Rue St Rome, TOULOUSE"; CDS postmarks "TOULOUSE 30 AVRIL 77", "ST GAUDENS 2 MAI 77", and "CETTE 18 MAI 89"
• Provenance: Addressed to Monsieur L. Thévenin, St. Gaudens
• Condition: Original paper fold creases, minor marginal tears along tears/edges, light age toning; postmarks and stamps remain bold and legible

History

During the late 19th century under the French Third Republic, private provincial merchant banks such as E. Chassaing & Cie in Toulouse managed local trade bills, currency exchanges, and commercial credit across the Haute-Garonne region. Commercial postal stationery from this period is sought after by postal historians and ephemera collectors for its pristine calligraphy, municipal postmarks, and contemporary combination of postal and fiscal adhesive tax stamps.