Anatole Hulot
Encyclopedia
Anatole Auguste Hulot was a French civil servant who directed the designing and printing of the first postage stamp
s of France
between 1848 and 1876.
. He helped the Banque de France
to make a banknote
because he mastered electroplating
. This method permitted to quickly create printing plates from the first print of an engraving
.
He attended meetings in the same Masonic Lodge
as Jacques-Jean Barre
, general engraver of the Paris Mint
. Barre helped him enter this institution as adjoint to the general engraver, title he obtained in June 1848.
In 1848, he was chosen to make the first postage stamps of France, to be issued on 1 January 1849. From 1848 to 1851, the entrepreneur Hulot worked in a régie: the French postal administration was responsible for the financial risks and paid for all necessary expenses which Hulot must prove (Barre's drawings and engravings, manufacturing of the printing material, the printer and his workers, paper, ink and gum
). A decree transformed the régie into a firm on 7 April 1851. Hulot was then the owner responsible for all risks and benefits, but the galvanos and matrix remain State property. He was paid 1.50 franc for each thousand stamps ordered and delivered to the postal administration.
In 1861, he received the title of Director of the manufacturing of postage stamps. Between 1848 and 1876, inside a building of the paris Mint, he directed the production of Ceres stamps
(except the 1870 Bordeaux issue), the different designs of the Napoleon III effigy on stamps and the colonial Eagle series
. He was surveyed by the Commission of the Mint and Medals.
However, during his direction, Hulot's relations with the postal administration had wavered many times. Reluctant as soon as December 1855 to perforate stamps
like the British Post Office began, Hulot was forced to adopt it at the end of 1861, with stamp issue in 1862. Worse, after Jacques-Jean Barre died in 1855, he didn't succeed to work with his son and new general engraver, Désiré-Albert and they end their association in August 1866. But their conflict continued next Autumn until the Commission of Mint and Medals decided that Barre son had to reengrave a laurel-crowned Napoleon III hallmark. Hulot created new stamps including the 5 franc stamp, the first large postage stamp of France, by putting together older material from Barre father and son until the 1870s.
During the Siege of Paris
by German armies in 1870, Houlot printed again Ceres stamps on order of the new republican government. During the Commune
in Spring 1871, he told he hid the Ceres series printing material, so that insurgents printed Napoleon III stamps, retrieved in May 1871.
During the civil peace, Hulot perfectionated the printing method: instead of a one-piece galvano of 150 stamps, he manufacturated individual stamp plates that could be easily and less costly replaced when broken.
Finally, the postal administration got impatient with the usual delays of Hulot (perforation, the laurelled effigy decided in 1861 and first stamp issued in December 1862) and questioned the cost even if Hulot's prices had been reduced over the years. In 1875, he was paid 0.60 franc for one thousand stamps for the first 500 first millions, then 50 centimes a thousand. The Banque de France
's printing plant in Hauteville street won the contract beginning on 31 December 1875 with a price of 47 centimes for a thousand stamps. Yet, Hulot worked until 30 June 1876 thank to a delay in the first printings of the new Sage stamp design.
He was authorized to continue living in his apartment inside the Paris Mint hotel.
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
between 1848 and 1876.
Biography
Anatole Hulot worked at the prefecture of ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He helped the Banque de France
Banque de France
The Banque de France is the central bank of France; it is linked to the European Central Bank . Its main charge is to implement the interest rate policy of the European System of Central Banks...
to make a banknote
Banknote
A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...
because he mastered electroplating
Electroplating
Electroplating is a plating process in which metal ions in a solution are moved by an electric field to coat an electrode. The process uses electrical current to reduce cations of a desired material from a solution and coat a conductive object with a thin layer of the material, such as a metal...
. This method permitted to quickly create printing plates from the first print of an engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
.
He attended meetings in the same Masonic Lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
as Jacques-Jean Barre
Jacques-Jean Barre
Jean-Jacques Barre was the general engraver at the Monnaie de Paris between 1842 and 1855. In this position, he engraved and designed French medals, the Great Seal of France, bank notes and postage stamps....
, general engraver of the Paris Mint
Monnaie de Paris
The Monnaie de Paris or, more administratively speaking, the "Direction of Coins and Medals", is an administration of the French government charged with issuing coins as well as producing medals and other similar items. Many ancient coins are housed there...
. Barre helped him enter this institution as adjoint to the general engraver, title he obtained in June 1848.
In 1848, he was chosen to make the first postage stamps of France, to be issued on 1 January 1849. From 1848 to 1851, the entrepreneur Hulot worked in a régie: the French postal administration was responsible for the financial risks and paid for all necessary expenses which Hulot must prove (Barre's drawings and engravings, manufacturing of the printing material, the printer and his workers, paper, ink and gum
Postage stamp gum
In philately, gum is the substance applied to the back of a stamp to enable it to adhere to a letter or other mailed item. The term is generic, and applies both to traditional types such as gum arabic and to synthetic modern formulations...
). A decree transformed the régie into a firm on 7 April 1851. Hulot was then the owner responsible for all risks and benefits, but the galvanos and matrix remain State property. He was paid 1.50 franc for each thousand stamps ordered and delivered to the postal administration.
In 1861, he received the title of Director of the manufacturing of postage stamps. Between 1848 and 1876, inside a building of the paris Mint, he directed the production of Ceres stamps
Ceres series (France)
The Ceres series was the first postage stamp series of France, issued in 1849 as a representation of the French Republic.The series bore the effigy of Ceres, goddess of growing plants in Roman mythology. Jacques-Jean Barre did the initial drawing and gravure...
(except the 1870 Bordeaux issue), the different designs of the Napoleon III effigy on stamps and the colonial Eagle series
Eagle Series
The Eagle Series is a military fiction series written by Simon Scarrow. The books describe the lives of two soldiers in the Roman army- Quintus Licinius Cato and Lucius Cornelius Macro. The first 5 books in the series are set in Roman Britain, between the years AD 42 and 44. The Eagle's Prophecy...
. He was surveyed by the Commission of the Mint and Medals.
However, during his direction, Hulot's relations with the postal administration had wavered many times. Reluctant as soon as December 1855 to perforate stamps
Postage stamp separation
For postage stamps, separation is the means by which individual stamps are made easily detachable from each other.Methods of separation include:# perforation: cutting rows and columns of small holes...
like the British Post Office began, Hulot was forced to adopt it at the end of 1861, with stamp issue in 1862. Worse, after Jacques-Jean Barre died in 1855, he didn't succeed to work with his son and new general engraver, Désiré-Albert and they end their association in August 1866. But their conflict continued next Autumn until the Commission of Mint and Medals decided that Barre son had to reengrave a laurel-crowned Napoleon III hallmark. Hulot created new stamps including the 5 franc stamp, the first large postage stamp of France, by putting together older material from Barre father and son until the 1870s.
During the Siege of Paris
Siege of Paris
The Siege of Paris, lasting from September 19, 1870 – January 28, 1871, and the consequent capture of the city by Prussian forces led to French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the establishment of the German Empire as well as the Paris Commune....
by German armies in 1870, Houlot printed again Ceres stamps on order of the new republican government. During the Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
in Spring 1871, he told he hid the Ceres series printing material, so that insurgents printed Napoleon III stamps, retrieved in May 1871.
During the civil peace, Hulot perfectionated the printing method: instead of a one-piece galvano of 150 stamps, he manufacturated individual stamp plates that could be easily and less costly replaced when broken.
Finally, the postal administration got impatient with the usual delays of Hulot (perforation, the laurelled effigy decided in 1861 and first stamp issued in December 1862) and questioned the cost even if Hulot's prices had been reduced over the years. In 1875, he was paid 0.60 franc for one thousand stamps for the first 500 first millions, then 50 centimes a thousand. The Banque de France
Banque de France
The Banque de France is the central bank of France; it is linked to the European Central Bank . Its main charge is to implement the interest rate policy of the European System of Central Banks...
's printing plant in Hauteville street won the contract beginning on 31 December 1875 with a price of 47 centimes for a thousand stamps. Yet, Hulot worked until 30 June 1876 thank to a delay in the first printings of the new Sage stamp design.
He was authorized to continue living in his apartment inside the Paris Mint hotel.
Sources and references
- Pascal Behr, Jean-François Brun et Michèle Chauvet (2000). Timbres de France. Le Spécialisé, volume 1, Yvert et TellierYvert et TellierYvert et Tellier is a postage stamp dealer and a philatelic publishing company founded in 1895 in the northern French city of Amiens, where the head office is still located. The logo is a circle divided into a snowflake and a smiling sun...
, Amiens, ISBN 2868140971. - Directing by Jean-François Brun (1998). Le Patrimoine du timbre-poste français, Flohic editions, ISBN 2842340353.
- Collective (2005). Chronique du timbre-poste français, Chroniques and La Poste, ISBN 2205057383.