1847 French Notarial Property Sale Document — Villers-Cotterêts Estate Transfer Manuscript
1847 French Notarial Property Sale Document — Villers-Cotterêts Estate Transfer Manuscript
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An original handwritten French notarial document dated 1847, executed on official stamped paper, documenting the sale of a residential property in Villers-Cotterêts, France.
The manuscript is written in elegant iron-gall ink cursive across multiple folio pages and retains its original folding format. The document is printed with the heading “Par devant” (before the notary) and names:
Jules Paul Louis Bernard, notary residing in Villers-Cotterêts
Pierre Alexandre Lebaigne, former notary and property owner
Étienne Lazare Gaillot, carpenter
Adélaïde Séraphine Duc, spouse of the purchaser
The text describes a house on Rue de Noyon, number 15, including interior spaces such as: salon, dining room, cabinet, staircase, five bedrooms, courtyard, wash area, stable, hangar, enclosed garden, pigeon loft
Additional clauses reference shared walls, drainage rights, and construction obligations between neighboring properties — typical legal provisions in 19th-century French property transfers.
The document includes:
printed “Timbre Royal” fiscal stamp with allegorical Justice figure
embossed paper seal watermark
multiple handwritten signatures
accounting annotations in the margins
registration notation dated August 16, 1847
The paper shows strong laid lines and retains excellent legibility.
An original handwritten French notarial document dated 1847, executed on official stamped paper, documenting the sale of a residential property in Villers-Cotterêts, France.
The manuscript is written in elegant iron-gall ink cursive across multiple folio pages and retains its original folding format. The document is printed with the heading “Par devant” (before the notary) and names:
Jules Paul Louis Bernard, notary residing in Villers-Cotterêts
Pierre Alexandre Lebaigne, former notary and property owner
Étienne Lazare Gaillot, carpenter
Adélaïde Séraphine Duc, spouse of the purchaser
The text describes a house on Rue de Noyon, number 15, including interior spaces such as: salon, dining room, cabinet, staircase, five bedrooms, courtyard, wash area, stable, hangar, enclosed garden, pigeon loft
Additional clauses reference shared walls, drainage rights, and construction obligations between neighboring properties — typical legal provisions in 19th-century French property transfers.
The document includes:
printed “Timbre Royal” fiscal stamp with allegorical Justice figure
embossed paper seal watermark
multiple handwritten signatures
accounting annotations in the margins
registration notation dated August 16, 1847
The paper shows strong laid lines and retains excellent legibility.
8.25"w x 4"h
8.25"w x 4"h
Notarial property sale documents were central to civil law in France, with local notaries serving as official legal record-keepers for property transfers, inheritance settlements, and financial agreements.
Stamped fiscal paper (“papier timbré”) was required for legal validity and taxation. The Timbre Royal mark visible here indicates official government-issued legal paper used during the mid-19th century.
Documents from Villers-Cotterêts are historically interesting — the town is known for the 1539 Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, which established French as the official administrative language of France.
Property contracts from this period often included detailed architectural descriptions and neighbor-to-neighbor obligations, offering insight into daily life and urban property structure in provincial France.
Notarial property sale documents were central to civil law in France, with local notaries serving as official legal record-keepers for property transfers, inheritance settlements, and financial agreements.
Stamped fiscal paper (“papier timbré”) was required for legal validity and taxation. The Timbre Royal mark visible here indicates official government-issued legal paper used during the mid-19th century.
Documents from Villers-Cotterêts are historically interesting — the town is known for the 1539 Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, which established French as the official administrative language of France.
Property contracts from this period often included detailed architectural descriptions and neighbor-to-neighbor obligations, offering insight into daily life and urban property structure in provincial France.
Mid-19th century (1847) French Second Republic / late July Monarchy administrative period
Mid-19th century (1847) French Second Republic / late July Monarchy administrative period
Handwritten ink on stamped laid paper
Embossed paper seal
Printed fiscal stamp
Ribbon (later archival tie)
Handwritten ink on stamped laid paper
Embossed paper seal
Printed fiscal stamp
Ribbon (later archival tie)
France (Villers-Cotterêts)
France (Villers-Cotterêts)
Original fold lines present from archival storage.
Minor foxing and edge wear consistent with age.
Paper remains structurally stable and fully legible.
Original fold lines present from archival storage.
Minor foxing and edge wear consistent with age.
Paper remains structurally stable and fully legible.