Important Unpublished Documents on the Commercial Activities of the Baroni Franchetti Family.

<<The documents presented here illustrate the trade and economic activities of members of the italian-jewish Franchetti family during the 18th and 19th centuries.>>The three main centers of business were Tunis, Izmir and Leghorn. Joseph of Abraham Franchetti moved to Tunis where he became, at a young age, a cloth merchant and a manufacturer of wool hats in the so-called Oriental style, popular across the Ottoman territories as well as in Europe, with a privileged place of supply in Leghorn. His arrival in Tunis must be seen in light of the economic possibilities offered to Italian Jews, and of the general privileges enjoyed by Europeans in the territories of The Sublime Porte. They were European Merchants leading “a very high standard of living …dressed in European style …talking to each other in Italian, preferring to avoid, if not exclude, marriages with local Jews.” (Attilio Milano, Storia degli ebrei italiani nel Levante, Firenze, 1949, p. 17).] Joseph’s family came from Mantua where he was probably born. He married Diamanta Baruch and they had five children: Abraham, born in 1754, Reuben (Raimondo) in 1757, Judah (Leone), b. 1760, Isaac, b. 1763, and Sara, b. 1767. The firstborn, after adequate instruction, was set to manage the company accounts, acting as treasurer with responsibility for the ledger, while Joseph coordinated relationships with customers and suppliers. The family business in Izmir was run firstly by Joseph’s brother-in-law, Benjamin Baruch, joined by Reuben in 1776, and after a short time, by Judah. The trades were handled through a series of companies, involving members of the Enriques family of Leghorn as well as other partners. The marriage agreement between Joseph’s daughter Sara and Hay Isaac Mordecai Enriques, at the end of 1777, helped to strengthen the business relationship between the two families. The opening of the shop in Leghorn, further solidified this relationship. By 1778, Isaac, the fourth son, was set to join the company in Leghorn as it grew and developed. This archive comprises: 1] A Manuscript Ledger of income and expenditure. Apparently missing the first seven folios, partly numbered 8-68, followed by blank pages. Main language is Italian, with a few terms in Hebrew, penned in cursive Italian Hebrew script. Lists of income and expenditure (between 1761 and 1786) are arranged by the name of each customer / supplier in each bifolium. There is a clear predominance of Jewish fabric suppliers from Leghorn. The earliest account dates back to 1761, with Jacob Da Fano from Leghorn, a supplier of various goods, particularly wools, but also religious articles, such as Tallitoth, sheets of parchments and Torah Scrolls. Other suppliers were Salomon Aghib (1775-1777), David De Montel, who sent “two demijohns of rose and orange blossom” in 1765; Josef Alfarino, who accumulated a credit of 7288 pezze between 1765 and 1766, partly recouped in diamonds from Franchetti’s partner, Mordechay Enriques. Josef Leon, who provided two “pairs of Tefillin” for 2,26 pezze in 1772, also supplied Reuben with a fund of 500 Florentine lire to cover the cost of his acquiring citizenship (ballottazione, which was offered by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany to those wishing to join the Jewish community of Leghorn). Another important commercial supplier was Paltiel Zemach, who was among the wealthiest and most enterprising Jews of Leghorn. He traded with Franchetti a large variety of weapons that were for sale in Tunis and Izmir, on behalf of Joseph and his associates, transported on boats from France, Veneto, Genoa and Ragusa. The boats’ captains were entitled to a commission ranging from 2% to 10% for each transaction. 2] Two volumes of Autographed Letters, “Letter Books” [LB] with contemporaneous stiff covers and parchment bindings. Both containing letters sent by Joseph, mostly in Italian. LB1: 32 x 22 cm, covers the period from January 1776 until the early months of 1780 and bears the title: Copia lettere Sig. I.F. per molte anni. Amen 1776 (“Mr. I.F.’s letter book for many years. Amen 1776”). The letters include Hebrew terms penned in cursive Hebrew script or transliterated, as well as terms in Judeo-Italian idioms when addressed to Joseph’s closest correspondents or his children. The main recipient was Paltiel Zemach (see above). He was often reimbursed with dates of the finest quality. In February 1778, Joseph complained to him about the famine that was causing an increase in the price of wheat and coffee, even though “trade still stands.” He implied that in case of necessity, he was relying on Paltiel to come to the aid of his son-in-law Enriques Isaac Hay and his daughter Sarah, who were about to move to Leghorn (LB1 p. 154, February 1778). Among the causes of the economic crisis was the rapid spread of the plague that was attacking several centers of the Mediterranean basin, first gripping Izmir and Istanbul, and then moving to Tunis and other port cities. The fear of contagion was one of Joseph’s premier concerns when in the summer of 1778, his son Judah arrived in Izmir for an apprenticeship before taking up the reins of the company. Four years later, Judah was settled in Leghorn, and then asked for a passport for Izmir. He was substituted by Reuben, who returned to Tunis to receive the appropriate training before going to Leghorn to manage the business (LB1 p. 174). Another important recipient of letters is Abraham Coen De Lara, one of Joseph’s partners, who was extremely dynamic in the three business centers. He intervened in Izmir in 1776 to resolve company matters, and to oversee the government business dealings with Benjamin Baruch and Reuben. Coen brought them a contract outlining the foundations for a new corporate structure, and he had to convince Baruch of the advantages of the new organization. At the beginning of 1778, Coen De Lara was again in Leghorn, for helping to help organize the supply of grain and wool from Spain needed for the following season (LB1 p. 107). On July 22, 1778, Joseph explicitly requested from Coen De Lara to support and closely monitor the development of his youngest son, Isaac, whom he had sent to Leghorn at the young age of 15. In a letter from Tunis dated March 26, 1779, Joseph expresses his and his wife’s concerns at being so distant from their youngest son, and the uncertainties of the path he was to follow. This letter also reveals that Joseph’s nephew had contracted smallpox, and possibly died from the illness (BL1 p. 193-194). Isaac, son of Salomon Enriques, arrived in Leghorn in 1779 after being in quarantine in the hospital of San Giacomo, and has been asked by Joseph Franchetti to join his son Isaac in partnership. Three years later the new trading company was founded under the name “Solomon Enriques and Joseph Franchetti “, which included both owners’ sons and other shareholders. LB2: The second Letter Book covers the period from March 1781 until the end of 1790. The first part consists of 159 unnumbered folios with letters sent by Joseph to his clients, suppliers and intermediaries. The second part, after 4 blank folios, starts with a bookmark in parchment inscribed “Invoice Book”, covering the same period. Noteworthy among the expenses, is the tax paid to the Pidion Shebuim organization (redemption of captures), founded in 1606. Among the new commercial partners listed are the Provenzal brothers Dell’Aquila and Modigliani, and the widow Sapte and children, Sabato (Shabetai) Ambron and Lazzaro (Lazarus) Montefiore. A large number of letters were addressed to Isaac Servi, with whom Joseph mainly traded in cloth, as well as gold and silver thread. It is possible that assistance offered by Servi to Isaac and Judah, while he was in Tuscany seeking to obtain citizenship, contributed to the growth of their commercial relationship (see: LB2 p. 21). In his letters addressed to Reuben in Izmir, about transactions of hats, Joseph also shared his concern relating to the spread of the plague, as well for Isaac’s management of the company and his lifestyle (see: LB2 p. 74). It can be inferred from other correspondence dated December 1782, that there was a plan to transfer Reuben to Leghorn and to send Isaac and Coen De Lara back to Tunis due to disagreement over managing the business (see: CL2 p. 92). However, this plan was apparently not realized, since Reuben remained settled in Izmir until 1787. In the final letter to Isaac, dated November 1784, the main themes are commercial. 3] A ledger of impressive size, bound in parchment and leather, likely used for documents of the Franchetti Company of Leghorn. April 1795 - November 1796. Measurements: 53x38 cm; 254 pp. The ledger includes correspondence with customers and suppliers, indicating an impressive increase in turnover since the previous ledger from Tunis. Recorded are long lists of remittances, bills of exchange for debtors, financial activities and lists of creditors for bills of exchange on the major European markets including London, Marseilles, Vienna, Hamburg and Paris, and personal accounts of family members such as Leon Franchetti of Tunis, Raymond Franchetti and Isaac Hay Enriques of Izmir. A list of accounts relating to Joseph Franchetti of Tunis, suggests that he was still alive in July 1796. In the years that followed, all the second generation Franchetti moved to Leghorn. According to M. Scardozzi, there were two main reasons for the transfer: firstly the plague, which caused a serious crisis in the manufacturing plants in Africa, and secondly the Franchettis’ close commercial relations that developed with emerging companies in the textile industry in Tuscany (including the Mazzoni and Pacchiani companies). Reuben, who married the daughter of Philip Cohen, a wealthy businessman from Trieste, was in Leghorn at the beginning of the 19th century. His sons Abraham and Isaac (Junior) became the main leaders of the family’s financial activities. David, the son of Abraham from Tunis, also moved to Leghorn, marrying Rosa of Salomon Tedeschi. Major real estate purchases in Leghorn and Pisa in the first two decades of the nineteenth century, led to the Franchettis becoming one of the wealthiest and prestigious Jewish families in the area. 4] A printed statement in French, 83 pages: The statement records the appeal of Raimond and Isaac Franchetti against the children of the widow Caillat and the brothers Guillot, merchants in Lyon, in relation to shareholdings in companies with which the general partners Franchetti operated. The exact date of printing is not recorded, yet the documents refer to hearings that date to around 1817. 5] A series of varied documents relating to the family: 5.1] Isaac (Senior) died in Pisa without direct heirs, on April 30, 1832 at the age of 70. Aldobrando Paglini praised his generosity for substantial donations to both Jewish and secular causes. (see: Antologia, 1832, vol. 46, p. 206-208). from his substantial estate, four million Tuscan pounds were left to his older brother Leone as well as to his nephews. After Isaac’s death, the “Raimondo and Isaac Franchetti” company was dissolved and recreated as “Abram and Isaac of the late Raimondo Franchetti” (Envelope 1 quire 1). 5.2] A file contains a series of 96 receipts concerning payments made by Abraham and Isaac (Junior) for liquidation in favor of their uncle and their cousin David. After receiving his liquidation payment, David moved to Florence. Abraham left Leghorn in 1845, and spent substantial time in Paris, before settling in Piedmont in 1858, where his family was awarded the title of Baron. In the same period his son Raymond married Sarah Luisa, daughter of Anselm Rothschild. 6] One receipt book of the years 1845-1859, containing documents referring to Isaac. Bound in parchment, 94 pp. Inscribed on the spine: “Ricevute I. del fu R. F.” (Receipts I[saac] of the late R. F.), and inside preceding the first payment, “With God’s name, Amen.” There is a gap of 12 years between the first three receipts dating 1845 and the subsequent receipts, from 1857. It can be inferred from this that Isaac had also left Leghorn, perhaps following his brother Abraham abroad. The correspondents, mostly from Tuscany, declare to have received cash money in payment for letters of credit transferred to the Franchetti in the main European markets. In the years that followed, the importance and stature of several members of the Franchetti family in Italy continued to develop, reaching a climax during the time of the Emancipation and the forming of the State. This is clearly evidenced by Abraham’s award of the title Baron by the House of Savoy, as well as the election of Leopold’s son Isaac (Junior) to the Parliament in the new Unitary State for seven legislatures from 1882 to 1904, and his appointment to the Senate only three years later. <<Select Bibliography:>> Le dimore di Pisa. L’arte di abitare i palazzi di un’antica Repubblica Marinara, dal Medioevo all’ Unità d’Italia, Firenze, Alinea, 2010. Il ‘giardino’ degli ebrei. Cimiteri ebraici nel Mantovano a cura di Annamaria Mortari e Claudia Bonora Previdi, Firenze, Giuntina, 2008. J. P. Filippini, Il posto dei negozianti ebrei nel commercio di Livorno nel Settecento, in RMI, 1984, n. 9-12, p. 637 and ff. Idem, Il porto di Livorno e la Toscana (1676-1814), Napoli, ESI, 1998. Leopoldo e Alice Franchetti e il loro tempo a cura di Paolo Pezzino e Alvaro Tacchini, Città di Castello, Petruzzi, 2002. Attilio Milano, Storia degli ebrei italiani nel Levante, Firenze, Israel, 1949. Mirella Scardozzi, Una storia di famiglia: I Franchetti dalle coste del Mediterraneo all?Italia liberale, Quaderni storici, 114, a. XXXVIII, 3, dic. 2003, pp. 697-740. Salvatore Speziale, Oltre la Peste. Sanità, popolazione e società in Tunisia e nel Maghreb, (XVIII-XX sec.), Cosenza, L. Pellegrini, pag. 42.