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284-shot28+30
Bronze medal from the Paris Mint (cornucopia hallmark from 1880).
Minted around 1898.
Minted around 1898.
Some minimal traces of handling.
Engraver / Artist : To Bertrand .
Dimensions : 45mm.
Weight : 47 g.
Metal : bronze.
Hallmark on the edge (mark on the edge) : Cornucopia + bronze.
Quick and neat delivery.
The support is not for sale.
Christophe-Joseph-Alexandre (CJA) Mathieu de Dombasle, most often called simply Mathieu de Dombasle, born in Nancy on February 26, 1777 and died on December 27, 1843 in the same city, is an agronomist, precursor of higher agricultural education French. Nicknamed by his contemporaries “the best plowman in France” BL 1.
Biography
Family origin
The grandfather, Nicolas Mathieu, was ennobled by letters patent given to the Château de Lunéville on December 8, 1724 by Léopold I of Lorraine1. He was successively treasurer of the Hôtel de Lorraine, receiver general then grand master of Waters and Forests of the Duchy of LorraineBL 2, a position inherited by Joseph-Antoine Mathieu, the youngest of the children and also the father of Christophe Mathieu de Dombasle2.
The father, Joseph Antoine Mathieu, bought the land of Dombasle whose name was then added to the first name, following the usage of the time. At the end of the 18th century, the Revolution deprived him of his office and therefore of part of his income, but he was not one of the nobles who were persecuted. He was not particularly invested in political issues. Notably because at this time, in 1791, his wife Marie-Marthe-Charlotte Lefebvre de Monjoye died prematurely. The couple had eight children, five of whom survived: three sons and two daughters2.
Childhood and studies
Christophe-Joseph-Alexandre Mathieu de Dombasle is the eldest of three sons. He did his first studies with his parents, then entered the Saint-Symphorien college at the age of 12, run in Metz by the Benedictines. However, the dispersion of monastic orders decided by the National Assembly in 1790 and the suspension of public education establishments, under the Terror, hampered his studies and his education was interrupted when he was 13 years old. He then trained self-taught, devoted himself to the fine arts, read a lot and was interested in BL 2 chemistry.
Although the Mathieu de Dombasle family had until then escaped persecution, the former Grand Master of Water and Forests undoubtedly judged it more prudent in 1795 to provide proof of his patriotism and had his eldest son take up service, in quality of simple accountant in the crews which besieged the capital of Luxembourg. Christophe Mathieu de Dombasle did not take part in any military action and, six months after his incorporation, he returned home2. Shortly after, Father Vaultrein, a Jesuit who had just returned to France following long travels, was responsible for providing the additional education that the Dombasle sons still lacked.
A succession of disappointments
Between 1800 and 1807, Christope Mathieu de Dombasle experienced a succession of unfortunate events. In 1801, he made a trip to Paris where he suffered from smallpox which left him physically scarred, with a loss of visual acuity. The following year, he was the victim of an accident in which the iron wheel of a car passed over his leg: he would limp for the rest of his life. This succession of unfortunate events made him “taciturn and distanced him from the world”2.
“He was of a tall stature. He always walked with his head tilted forward because his eyesight was poor; his black eyes had little sparkle, but his serious, pensive countenance indicated that he took pleasure in intellectual work.
— Gustave Heuzé, Journal of Practical Agriculture, 1894
In 1803 he married Françoise-Julie Huyn, daughter of a former field marshal who had been provost marshal. The couple had a son in 1803 and a daughter in 1806. During this period he studied foreign languages, natural, mathematical and physical sciences, chemistry N 1 and soon agriculture. The death of Françoise-Julie in 1807 put an end to this short period of family happinessBL 3.
He died on December 27, 1843 in Nancy3. He leaves his daughter, his son having preceded him in the grave.
His grandson, Charles de Meixmoron de Dombasle, who became a painter, edited three of his books including his Traité d'Agriculture4 and published them posthumously in 1861-1862.
The sugar extraction factory
Sugar beet in open field
At the time of the continental blockade, under Napoleon, the importation of cane from the West Indies became impossible and continental Europe lacked sugar. Like other European chemists or agronomists, Christophe Mathieu de Dombasle launched into the extraction and crystallization of beet sugar, a completely new industry at the time. On December 4, 1810, he bought the Montplaisir estate near Vandoeuvre, in the suburbs of Nancy, to build a factory. To obtain a good level of production, he acquires additional plots, he buys the rights to use water resources BL 3. The area cultivated with beet soon reached 100 ha and the factory produced 30 tonnes of sugar2.
Its manufacturing work is accompanied by research and experimentation, which advances the technique of extracting sugar from
Biography
Family origin
The grandfather, Nicolas Mathieu, was ennobled by letters patent given to the Château de Lunéville on December 8, 1724 by Léopold I of Lorraine1. He was successively treasurer of the Hôtel de Lorraine, receiver general then grand master of Waters and Forests of the Duchy of LorraineBL 2, a position inherited by Joseph-Antoine Mathieu, the youngest of the children and also the father of Christophe Mathieu de Dombasle2.
The father, Joseph Antoine Mathieu, bought the land of Dombasle whose name was then added to the first name, following the usage of the time. At the end of the 18th century, the Revolution deprived him of his office and therefore of part of his income, but he was not one of the nobles who were persecuted. He was not particularly invested in political issues. Notably because at this time, in 1791, his wife Marie-Marthe-Charlotte Lefebvre de Monjoye died prematurely. The couple had eight children, five of whom survived: three sons and two daughters2.
Childhood and studies
Christophe-Joseph-Alexandre Mathieu de Dombasle is the eldest of three sons. He did his first studies with his parents, then entered the Saint-Symphorien college at the age of 12, run in Metz by the Benedictines. However, the dispersion of monastic orders decided by the National Assembly in 1790 and the suspension of public education establishments, under the Terror, hampered his studies and his education was interrupted when he was 13 years old. He then trained self-taught, devoted himself to the fine arts, read a lot and was interested in BL 2 chemistry.
Although the Mathieu de Dombasle family had until then escaped persecution, the former Grand Master of Water and Forests undoubtedly judged it more prudent in 1795 to provide proof of his patriotism and had his eldest son take up service, in quality of simple accountant in the crews which besieged the capital of Luxembourg. Christophe Mathieu de Dombasle did not take part in any military action and, six months after his incorporation, he returned home2. Shortly after, Father Vaultrein, a Jesuit who had just returned to France following long travels, was responsible for providing the additional education that the Dombasle sons still lacked.
A succession of disappointments
Between 1800 and 1807, Christope Mathieu de Dombasle experienced a succession of unfortunate events. In 1801, he made a trip to Paris where he suffered from smallpox which left him physically scarred, with a loss of visual acuity. The following year, he was the victim of an accident in which the iron wheel of a car passed over his leg: he would limp for the rest of his life. This succession of unfortunate events made him “taciturn and distanced him from the world”2.
“He was of a tall stature. He always walked with his head tilted forward because his eyesight was poor; his black eyes had little sparkle, but his serious, pensive countenance indicated that he took pleasure in intellectual work.
— Gustave Heuzé, Journal of Practical Agriculture, 1894
In 1803 he married Françoise-Julie Huyn, daughter of a former field marshal who had been provost marshal. The couple had a son in 1803 and a daughter in 1806. During this period he studied foreign languages, natural, mathematical and physical sciences, chemistry N 1 and soon agriculture. The death of Françoise-Julie in 1807 put an end to this short period of family happinessBL 3.
He died on December 27, 1843 in Nancy3. He leaves his daughter, his son having preceded him in the grave.
His grandson, Charles de Meixmoron de Dombasle, who became a painter, edited three of his books including his Traité d'Agriculture4 and published them posthumously in 1861-1862.
The sugar extraction factory
Sugar beet in open field
At the time of the continental blockade, under Napoleon, the importation of cane from the West Indies became impossible and continental Europe lacked sugar. Like other European chemists or agronomists, Christophe Mathieu de Dombasle launched into the extraction and crystallization of beet sugar, a completely new industry at the time. On December 4, 1810, he bought the Montplaisir estate near Vandoeuvre, in the suburbs of Nancy, to build a factory. To obtain a good level of production, he acquires additional plots, he buys the rights to use water resources BL 3. The area cultivated with beet soon reached 100 ha and the factory produced 30 tonnes of sugar2.
Its manufacturing work is accompanied by research and experimentation, which advances the technique of extracting sugar from
The specificity of Christophe Mathieu de Dombasle's work is to keep very detailed double-entry accounts. Each station, each aspect of the farm has its own account book to record entries and exits with sometimes very meticulous precision: for example, cows are credited for the milk they produce while their calves are debited for the milk they produce. 'they ingest. From this perspective, he notes that the livestock which gives the best yield are the smallest, when we consider the conversion between grass consumed and meat producedBL 7.
He used the premises of his former sugar extraction factory, in Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, to establish an agricultural implement factory in which he worked in particular on agricultural implements. Being both a designer and user of machines, he manages to perfect tools by examining their mode of operation and the result of their work. He places great importance on observing situations. He seeks to develop a plow that best uses the traction effort. In particular, he invented a plow with a moldboard but without wheels, therefore somewhat similar to the plow inherited from Antiquity. Considered to be light, robust, requiring low traction force, inexpensive, it achieved considerable success and gradually spread throughout the countryside, bearing its name: the DombasleBL 7 plow.
In 1842, the results were mixed. On the one hand, the farm made very little profit. Dombasle was saved from ruin by state subsidies. After paying all its debts (reimbursement of subscriber-shareholders), it has very little left. The failure is linked to the lack of knowledge of the basics of mineral nutrition of plants which were discovered only in 1840 by Justus von Liebig. In the absence of this data, Dombasle was unable to significantly increase its agricultural yields. On the other hand, its agricultural school is a complete success. The model will serve as a basis for the installation of an agricultural school in Grand-Jouan (future agronomic school of Rennes) and especially in Grignon (also an agronomic school), both of which are still in operation today.
Precursor of agronomic studies
He became a member of the Agricultural Society of Paris in 1834, and was also a correspondent for the Academy of Sciences.
The Annales de Roville, in which Dombasle gives an account of his experiences, will be imitated.
He published useful works; he trained students and disciples who themselves developed his ideas, notably Jules Rieffel. In doing so, he boosted French higher agronomic education. Even more, being endowed with a particle ("de" Dombasle) and heir to a great lineage, he did not hesitate to become a simple farmer showing what "honorable the profession of farmer" could be. It was he who launched the fashion for these notable farmers, proud to be both at the same time, so characteristic of the mid-19th century.
Publications
As author
Observations on the customs tariff proposed to the chamber of deputies of the departments in its session of September 24, 1814 presented to the two chambers of the legislative body, Nancy, Impr. by Guivard, 1814
Theoretical and practical instruction on the manufacture of grain and potato brandies, Paris: Huzard, 1820.
Calendar of the good farmer, or Manual of the practical farmer, Nancy: Impr. de Haener, at the Author, and Paris: Mme Huzard, 1821, in-12, IV-407 p. ; Paris, Huzard, 1822, in-12; 2nd ed., Paris, Mme Huzard, 1824, in-12, VII-493 p. ; 3rd ed. Paris, Mme Huzard, 1830, in-12, XI-475 p. ; 4th ed., Paris, 1833, in-12, VIII-588 p. ; 6th ed., Paris: Mme Huzard, 1840, in-12, XIX-624 p. ; 7th ed., Paris: Bouchard-Huzard and Audot, 1843, 638 p. ; 8th ed., Paris: chez Bouchard-Huzard, and Nancy, 1846, in-12, XXV-660 p. ; 9th ed., Paris: Ve Bouchard-Huzard, in-12, XLVI-820 p., and 1860, in-12, LI-871 p.
Plow theory, 1821
Agricultural annals of Roville or mixtures of agriculture, rural economy and agricultural legislation. Volume 1 to 8 in-8°. Huzard, Treuzel and Wurtz bookstore, Paris, 1824-1832
Of the tax on spirits, in its relations with agriculture, Paris, Imprimerie de Mme Huzard, 1824, taken separately from the Annales agricole de Roville, presented on the occasion of the bill which was to upset taxation on alcohol.
Instruction on the distillation of grains and potatoes, 1827
Taxes in their relationship with agricultural production, Paris, Imprimerie de Mme Huzard, 1829, 176 p. read online [archive]
Notice on the plow or simple plow, 1830
Entry duties on wool and livestock, with considerations on the effects of protection duties in general, and on the particular situation of French agriculture in relation to the livestock industry
He used the premises of his former sugar extraction factory, in Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, to establish an agricultural implement factory in which he worked in particular on agricultural implements. Being both a designer and user of machines, he manages to perfect tools by examining their mode of operation and the result of their work. He places great importance on observing situations. He seeks to develop a plow that best uses the traction effort. In particular, he invented a plow with a moldboard but without wheels, therefore somewhat similar to the plow inherited from Antiquity. Considered to be light, robust, requiring low traction force, inexpensive, it achieved considerable success and gradually spread throughout the countryside, bearing its name: the DombasleBL 7 plow.
In 1842, the results were mixed. On the one hand, the farm made very little profit. Dombasle was saved from ruin by state subsidies. After paying all its debts (reimbursement of subscriber-shareholders), it has very little left. The failure is linked to the lack of knowledge of the basics of mineral nutrition of plants which were discovered only in 1840 by Justus von Liebig. In the absence of this data, Dombasle was unable to significantly increase its agricultural yields. On the other hand, its agricultural school is a complete success. The model will serve as a basis for the installation of an agricultural school in Grand-Jouan (future agronomic school of Rennes) and especially in Grignon (also an agronomic school), both of which are still in operation today.
Precursor of agronomic studies
He became a member of the Agricultural Society of Paris in 1834, and was also a correspondent for the Academy of Sciences.
The Annales de Roville, in which Dombasle gives an account of his experiences, will be imitated.
He published useful works; he trained students and disciples who themselves developed his ideas, notably Jules Rieffel. In doing so, he boosted French higher agronomic education. Even more, being endowed with a particle ("de" Dombasle) and heir to a great lineage, he did not hesitate to become a simple farmer showing what "honorable the profession of farmer" could be. It was he who launched the fashion for these notable farmers, proud to be both at the same time, so characteristic of the mid-19th century.
Publications
As author
Observations on the customs tariff proposed to the chamber of deputies of the departments in its session of September 24, 1814 presented to the two chambers of the legislative body, Nancy, Impr. by Guivard, 1814
Theoretical and practical instruction on the manufacture of grain and potato brandies, Paris: Huzard, 1820.
Calendar of the good farmer, or Manual of the practical farmer, Nancy: Impr. de Haener, at the Author, and Paris: Mme Huzard, 1821, in-12, IV-407 p. ; Paris, Huzard, 1822, in-12; 2nd ed., Paris, Mme Huzard, 1824, in-12, VII-493 p. ; 3rd ed. Paris, Mme Huzard, 1830, in-12, XI-475 p. ; 4th ed., Paris, 1833, in-12, VIII-588 p. ; 6th ed., Paris: Mme Huzard, 1840, in-12, XIX-624 p. ; 7th ed., Paris: Bouchard-Huzard and Audot, 1843, 638 p. ; 8th ed., Paris: chez Bouchard-Huzard, and Nancy, 1846, in-12, XXV-660 p. ; 9th ed., Paris: Ve Bouchard-Huzard, in-12, XLVI-820 p., and 1860, in-12, LI-871 p.
Plow theory, 1821
Agricultural annals of Roville or mixtures of agriculture, rural economy and agricultural legislation. Volume 1 to 8 in-8°. Huzard, Treuzel and Wurtz bookstore, Paris, 1824-1832
Of the tax on spirits, in its relations with agriculture, Paris, Imprimerie de Mme Huzard, 1824, taken separately from the Annales agricole de Roville, presented on the occasion of the bill which was to upset taxation on alcohol.
Instruction on the distillation of grains and potatoes, 1827
Taxes in their relationship with agricultural production, Paris, Imprimerie de Mme Huzard, 1829, 176 p. read online [archive]
Notice on the plow or simple plow, 1830
Entry duties on wool and livestock, with considerations on the effects of protection duties in general, and on the particular situation of French agriculture in relation to the livestock industry
The question of livestock considered from its various points of view, Paris: chez Bouchard-Huzard and chez Audot, December 1841, 8vo, 42 p.
Native sugar. Letter to a manufacturer on the maceration process, Nancy, 1841. Technical memory concerning the manufacture of beet sugar.
Native sugar. The maceration process in 1842, Paris, 1842
Various works: political economy, public education, stud farms and remounts on Google Books. B
Native sugar. Letter to a manufacturer on the maceration process, Nancy, 1841. Technical memory concerning the manufacture of beet sugar.
Native sugar. The maceration process in 1842, Paris, 1842
Various works: political economy, public education, stud farms and remounts on Google Books. B