Letter from Frachon Dugas to J. M.... (1840)

NRA-L-000512 / 1840

Letter from Frachon Dugas to J. M. Frachon, 1840-02-14

A letter addressing family news, an impending birth for Laure, business bankruptcies, and detailed requests for provisions including beds, chocolate, prunes, oil, sausages, and coffee.

Neruda Archives
NRA-L-000512

NRA-L-000512 image 1 showing a folded address panel to a Frachon correspondent with postal marks, routing notations and paper folds. — **Image 1**Address panel, postal evidence and retained annotations.

NRA-L-000512 image 2 showing a handwritten French letter page with manuscript text, marginal notes and visible fold lines. — **Image 2**Letter text — Page 1.

NRA-L-000512 image 3 showing a handwritten French letter continuation with closing, signature, annotations, folds and paper edges. — **Image 3**Letter text, closing and retained annotations.

Archive Record

Identifier: NRA-L-000512
Date: 1840-02-14
Original date: Voiron le 14 février 1840
Type: Family correspondence
Language: French / fr
Sender: Frachon Dugas
Recipient: Jn Mᵉ Frachon
Places: Voiron / Annonay
Extent: 3 documentary sides: Documentary page 1; Documentary page 2; Documentary page 3; 3 digital images.
Citation: Neruda Archives, NRA-L-000512.

Rights & reuse

Reuse is welcome. Publicly available images may be reused for non-commercial purposes with attribution, and automated machine use is permitted with provenance. Commercial republication requires prior written permission.

Full rights & reuse terms

Publicly available images, transcriptions, translations, metadata and descriptions may be copied, shared, reproduced and republished, in whole or in part, for non-commercial purposes, provided that Neruda Archives is clearly credited and the relevant item identifier and stable URL are preserved. This permission includes non-commercial scholarly, educational, editorial, exhibition, website and social-media use. Automated machine use, including crawling, indexing, text and data mining, retrieval, embeddings and AI training by commercial and non-commercial systems, is permitted, provided provenance is retained where technically feasible and the item identifier and stable URL are preserved in source records or associated documentation. Commercial publication, commercial reproduction, resale, advertising use, paid access to a database or dataset and bulk redistribution of images require prior written permission. For the avoidance of doubt, permission is not required merely because an AI system or its operator is commercial. The images displayed and downloadable on this page are public access copies, and the permissions above apply to those files. Access to non-public source scans (preservation masters) or files specially prepared for print, where available, requires prior written agreement. Attribution may not be removed or replaced by false or misleading attribution.

Transcript and English translation

working scholarly aid

Address panel

Original transcript

A Monsieur
Jn Mᵉ Frachon
Annonay

Address panel

English translation

A Monsieur
Jn Mᵉ Frachon
Annonay

Documentary page 2

Original transcript

Voiron le 14 fevrier 1840

j'ai ta lettre du 12. c.t et tu vois que je fais Preuve
d'exactitude en te repondant de suite.
Je te Remercie de la complaisance a m'achetter les
bois de lit que je t'ai demandé Recomende bien que ces bois
ayent bien la dimention que je t'ai indiqué qu'il soient
bien Sains, Sans fentes et s'ils etaient Secs ils n'en Seraient
que Meilleurs et peseraient Moins p.r la voiture.
les faillites dont tu me Parles Sont vraiment effrayantes
et je vois avec Plaisir que mes Cousins y Sont Sans interet
Puisque tu es le commissionaire dans l'affaire Seizon voila
la besogne bien augmentée, je desire cependant que
tu voudras executer la Promesse de nous venir voir a la
fin du Careme, et j'espere que tu trouveras encore laure
ici; et que Si le temps est beau tu devanceras ce voyage
car ma femme doit accompagner laure a Rives de
Giers, tachés donc de venir dans le c.t de ce mois
laure va bien, je crois qu'elle aproche de la
fin le moment de sa delivrance aproche dans la 15aine
tout Sera fini, elle est bien grosse, mais toujours
fort gaye. Son mari est ici depuis avant hier avec
le fils aîné de Malgontier. nous alons tous assés bien
J'écris aujourd'hui a françois
frachon m'a fait part du bruit du mariage de M.lle
julien mignot, et je l'ai lu hier dans un journal
sa cousine, si on n'en Parle Pas encore a annonay
N'en dis Rien quoiqu'il ne m'aye Pas Recomandé le
Secret.
Marie M'a dit qu'elle t'a Demandé 26 l de
Chocolat elle te Prie de les lui adresser le Plutot Possible

Ma femme te prie de joindre aux provisions que je te demande
15 à 20 l de pruneaux, que laure aime beaucoup et qui dit on
tiennent le ventre libre a ceux qui en mangent.

Documentary page 2

English translation

Voiron, February 14, 1840

I have your letter of the 12th of the current month and you see that I show proof of punctuality by answering you right away.
I thank you for your kindness in buying me the bedsteads that I asked you for; highly recommend that these woods have the exact dimensions that I indicated to you, that they be very sound, without cracks, and if they were dry they would only be better and would weigh less for the carriage.
The bankruptcies you tell me about are truly frightening and I see with pleasure that my cousins have no interest in them.
Since you are the commissioner in the Seizon affair, here is the workload well increased; I desire however that you will want to execute the promise to come see us at the end of Lent, and I hope that you will still find Laure here; and that if the weather is fine you will bring this trip forward, because my wife must accompany Laure to Rive-de-Gier, try therefore to come in the course of this month.
Laure is doing well, I think she is approaching the end, the moment of her delivery is approaching, within the fortnight everything will be over; she is very big, but still very cheerful. Her husband has been here since the day before yesterday with the eldest son of Malgontier. We are all quite well.
I am writing today to François.
Frachon informed me of the rumor of the marriage of Miss Julien Mignot, and I read it yesterday in a newspaper, her cousin, if it is not yet spoken of in Annonay, do not say anything about it, although he did not recommend secrecy to me.
Marie told me that she asked you for 26 pounds of chocolate, she begs you to send them to her as soon as possible.

My wife begs you to add to the provisions I ask of you 15 to 20 pounds of prunes, which Laure likes very much and which they say keep the bowels regular for those who eat them.

Documentary page 3

Original transcript

tu me demande si alphonse a trouve l'huile que
tu lui adress. bonne, il s'en loue tellement qu'il
nous a decidé a lui demander 20 à 25 l.res que
je Partagerai avec marie, envoi nous bien de
la meme car d'ailleur il dit que ce n'est Pas
Possible
je credite Duret & chomel de 56 f sur le
Debit d'alphonse Pour l'huile que tu lui a adressé
adieu cher ami, si ta femme Pouvait nous
faire achetter quelque livre de bonne petite
Saucisse je te Prie de nous les adresser avec l'huile
et le Chocolat. mais il faut qu'elle ne Se
derange Pas trop. quoique nous ne fassions
Point tuer de Cochon nous avons fait faire
des Caillette mais elles ne Sont Pas Si bonnes que
Celles qu'on Mange a annonay, prié ta
femme de m'en Donner la Recette.
adieu bon frere bon ami, embrasse
bien ta femme et la Petite elisabete qui me
tarde de voir ici. adieu je t'embrasse
Vᵗ Frachon

Encore de l'embarras
Ma femme n'a plus de Caffe et te prie de lui
faire sa Petite provision, nous l'aimons bon
arrange cela pour le mieux comme tu feras tu
trouveras.

Documentary page 3

English translation

You ask me if Alphonse found the oil you sent him good; he praises it so much that he decided us to ask him for 20 to 25 pounds which I will share with Marie; be sure to send us the same kind because besides he says it is not possible.
I am crediting Duret & Chomel with 56 francs on Alphonse's debit for the oil you sent him.
Farewell dear friend, if your wife could have bought for us a few pounds of good little sausages, I beg you to send them to us with the oil and the chocolate. But she must not inconvenience herself too much. Although we do not have a pig killed, we had caillettes made but they are not as good as the ones you eat in Annonay; beg your wife to give me the recipe for them.
Farewell good brother good friend, kiss your wife warmly and little Elisabeth whom I long to see here. Farewell, I embrace you.
Vᵗ Frachon

More trouble.
My wife has no more coffee and begs you to get her small provision for her, we like it good, arrange that for the best, as you will do you will find.

Discovery Terms

Family correspondence
Provisions
Pregnancy
Business and commerce
Frachon Family Correspondence

Transcriptions and English translations are provided as working scholarly aids, not as replacements for the images of the original documents. Some readings may remain uncertain, especially where handwriting, spelling, damage, abbreviations, names or places are difficult.

Some transcriptions and translations may be prepared with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by Neruda Archives before publication. Better readings, corrections and alternative translations are welcome when they are supported by the manuscript image, context or reliable sources.

When suggesting a correction, please include the item ID, the relevant line or image area, the proposed reading or translation, and the evidence for it.

Suggest a better reading or correction

Relevant line or image area Proposed reading or translation Evidence or reason

Your name Your email

Your name and email are optional. Personal data is used only to assess, document and, where possible, respond to this correction. See the Privacy Notice.