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Lettres Patentes Du Roi by Redi, Francesco, a rare example from the work of the 1780 - gastronomy book.
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  • Lettres Patentes Du Roi by Redi, Francesco, a rare example from the work of the 1780 - gastronomy book.
  • Lettres Patentes Du Roi by Redi, Francesco, a rare photograph of the 1780 - gastronomy book.
  • Lettres Patentes Du Roi by Redi, Francesco, a rare highlight from the volume of the 1780 - gastronomy book.
  • Lettres Patentes Du Roi by Redi, Francesco, a rare example from the work of the 1780 - gastronomy book.
  • Lettres Patentes Du Roi by Redi, Francesco, a rare photograph of the 1780 - gastronomy book.
  • Lettres Patentes Du Roi by Redi, Francesco, a rare highlight from the volume of the 1780 - gastronomy book.
Lettres Patentes Du Roi

The 1780 royal edict restricting wine-sellers’ rights to serve food, an early legal landmark that paved the way for the birth of the modern restaurant.

Lettres Patentes Du Roi
Contenant Reglement Sur Le Commerce Des Nouvelles Communautes Des Cabaretiers, Aubergistes, Cafetiers, Limonadiers, & Sur Celui Des Detailleurs D'Eaux-De-Vie & Des Vendans Vins & Autre Boissons. Donnee A Versailles Le 20 Decembre 1779. Registrees En Parlament Le 25 Janvier 1780

1780, Paris, Imprimerie Royale

$220 USD

Overview

Versailles, December 20, 1779; registered Paris, January 25, 1780; Paris, Imprimerie Royale. Quarto, laid paper. Royal letters of Louis XVI regulating the commercial rights of newly constituted communities of cabaretiers, aubergistes, cafetiers, limonadiers, retailers of eaux-de-vie, and vendeurs de vin et autres boissons.

Inside the book

The text reaffirms that these drink sellers may serve beverages à pot et assiette, meaning by the jug and with a simple accompaniment, yet not composed dishes, table service, or seated meals. It explicitly protects the privileges of the older food guilds, chiefly traiteurs and aubergistes, and orders police and courts to enforce the boundaries. The letters are signed by the King, countersigned by Amelot, seen and sealed by Phélypeaux, and registered by Dufranc in Parliament.
A late Ancien Régime measure that preserves the guild hierarchy, centralizes control, and resists the emerging practice of drink shops sliding into meal service. The piece sits on the eve of the restaurant’s rise, nine years before the Revolution and the abolition of corporate monopolies in 1791.

Why La Fenice chose it

A last stand of the Ancien Régime: this royal edict draws the line between wine rights and restaurant service, just before the Revolution abolished it all. A gem for lovers of food law, wine culture, and proto-hospitality.
Condition Report

Pp. [4].

Unbound folio royal letter patent, uncut. Decorative woodcut cartouche with royal arms of France (fleurs-de-lis), dated 1778. Blank recto. Excellent condition.

Dimensions (inches): 10 3/4 x 8.5
About the author

Notable names: Louis XVI, Amelot de Chaillou, the Phélypeaux family, Dufranc of the Paris Parlement.

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