"[ÎLE BOURBON (RÉUNION)]. Jean-Baptiste Antoine PRAT, owner and farmer on Bourbon Island.
Bourbon; he was the son of the director of the Sainte-Pélagie prison.
76 autograph letters signed to his sister Agathe, a painter in Paris. 247 pp. in-4 and in-
folio. Saint-Pierre, Manapagny, Saint-Joseph, Port-Louis, Saint-Benoît, Bourbier, Saint-Louis
(Bois de Nèfles) and Petite île, 1843-1879 (all letters are written from Bourbon Island, except one from Mauritius).
one from Mauritius). Addresses on the back with postmarks (a few letters with stamps
most have been cut out). Tears to some letters (sometimes with
missing). Some letters are written by his wife Laure (née Ringwald).
Formidable and very interesting correspondence, enabling us to follow, over more than thirty-five years, the life and work of the artist.
years, the life and activities of this planter who tried his hand at different types of cultivation, from sugar cane to vanilla.
from sugar cane to vanilla, and even poppies to turn them into opium. The letters are
are often very long and full of details about his activity.
In the first letter, written from Saint-Pierre on April 30, 1843, he recounts his long voyage
after a 102-day crossing, his impressions of the country, and justifies the choice he made to
sacrifice the closeness of his family to come and settle in Bourbon. He develops his
first activity, teaching. "Only four days ago, on April 26, I tried to set up an
set up an institution in St Pierre. It was the only string I had to my bow. I now have
at the moment five pupils at 5 piastres a month each, and I'm expecting at least twenty more
promised to me in the next few days. If I'm lucky enough to achieve this result, I'm saved.
saved, and I'll be able to pay off my debts [...]". But he soon changed
But he soon changed direction, bought land and began farming.
Manapagny "sucrerie Lau et Boissel, July 15, 1846. [...] I have land and blacks; I grow sugar cane.
grow sugar cane, but I can only make a small income". So he set his sights on
Madagascar, the neighboring island. "Madagascar is the biggest island in the Indian Ocean, and its wealth
The soil's resources would supply an entire continent. It's a
It's a virgin country, just waiting to be civilized. The sugar cane here is three times more beautiful
than that of Bourbon or India. It could be cultivated with the greatest success. The
mines are incalculable, those of lead, iron and silver are in great numbers.
are plentiful. A few thousand men would be enough to conquer this beautiful colony, which would
would bring France great advantages and would later become the key and arbiter of the Indian seas [...
Indian seas [...]". His business was booming, and he was constantly coming up with new projects which he
to make a reality. Saint-Benoît August 3, 1862. "We currently have in the colony
colony a shrub whose products we will be able to use later with extreme advantage.
the poinsettia, which will one day overthrow the cochineal used for dyeing.
dyeing. M. de Rontaunay, Bourbon's richest merchant, has just sent France
France for serious examination. The experiments were
were carried out in Saint-Denis by medical chemists who found all the qualities
required for Poinsettia [...]".
Ten years later, it was vanilla that caught his attention. Sept. 19, 1872. "[...] Yes, with about
ten thousand francs, I could make a success of this enterprise, especially if I had suitable
land suitable for this crop: for in one hectare of well-cultivated land, one can make
in Bourbon in 2 ½ years up to 2,000 pounds of vanilla; let's admit only a thousand at
20f. this adds up to 20,000 francs, and after this first crop, vanilla is profitable every year.
so it's not the first crop that's long; however, when we can find plants
However, when you can find plants one or two meters high, vanilla pays off after a year. I planted 2 to
300 plants of 25 to 30 centimeters: that's why I count two to 2 ½ years for the 1st report [...]".
report [...]".
Enclosed are a few other letters addressed to Agathe Prat."
Estim. 3,000 - 4,000 EUR
