Description

Beginning in the mid-17^th century France and Britain made several unsuccessful attempts to gain an enduring colonial foothold in Madagascar.  However, King Radama I (reigned 1810-28), the ruler of the Merina Kingdom, which had unified Madagascar under its control, was ardently pro-British and tolerant of Christianity.  He signed the Anglo-Malagasy Treaty of Friendship and Commerce (1817), which opened the country to the missionaries of the London Missionary Society (LMS), a British Protestant organization (founded in 1795).

 

The first LMS missionary, David Jones, arrived in Madagascar in 1818, followed by several others, who set up stations in various places across the island.  To aid education and the spread of the gospel, the LMS established the first printing press in Madagascar at Antananarivo (Tananarive) in 1827.  The press produced several important publications, but only in small print runs.  Importantly, the missionaries changed the standard of writing Malagasy from Sorabe (an Arabic-based script) to the Latin alphabet.

 

In 1828, upon the death of Radama I, Madagascar came under the rule of Queen Ranavalona I (reigned 1828-61), who loathed Christianity and the Western presence on her island.  In 1835, she banned Christianity, forcing the LMS missions and its printing press to close, so ending the ‘incunable’ period of printing in Madagascar.

 

Upon Ranavalona I’s death in 1861, her successor Radama II changed government policy towards a pro-Western stance, with a toleration of Christianity.  He duly invited missionaries to return to Madagascar.  In 1862, the LMS revived its press under the leadership of Reverend John Parrett, a master printer.

 

In 1875, Parett, was appointed as the official printer to Queen Ranavalona II.  From the LMS Press in Antananarivo, he issued government documents and the state organ, the Ny Gazety Malagasy.

 

With Parett’s assistance, the first dedicated government press in Madagascar, the Imprimerie du Gouvernement malgache, or the Imprimerie de la Reine, was founded in 1878, in Nanjakana, a small Christian missionary village located about 50 km ENE of the capital Antananarivo (Tananarive).

 

During the First Franco-Hova War, or First Madagascar Expedition (1883-5), France invaded the island, defeating the Malagasy armies, so compelling Queen Ranavalona III to sign a treaty that made Madagascar a French protectorate.  However, this arrangement did not stick, as the queen’s officials simply ignored or evaded French authority.

 

During the Second Franco-Hova War, or the Second Madagascar Expedition (December 1894 – September 1895), a large French military force conquered the island and deposed and the and exiled Ranavalona III.  On February 28, 1897, France formally made Madagascar and several nearby islands into the Colonie de Madagascar et dépendances.

 

In the wake of the war, General Joseph Simon Gallieni (1849 – 1916), served as the head of the island’s provisional regime, before becoming the first Governor-General of Madagascar.  He was a legendry and controversial soldier-administrator who would end his storied career as a Marshal de France, and who had already gained great fame for his exploits in Sudan and Vietnam.  In Madagascar he was a brutally authoritarian, but a highly competent and energetic administrator, who was responsible for founding Madagascar’s modern economic and social institutions, as well as building its infrastructure network.

 

Back to matters of the press, in January 1896, during the war, the French army seized the Queen’s press and transformed it into the Imprimerie national malgache, serving the needs of the French military regime.

 

In April 1897, General Gallieni appointed Félix Leiffeit as the first proper ‘Adminstrateur’, or Director, of the Imprimerie national malgache.  In September 1897, General Gallieni renamed the press as the Imprimerie Officielle.

 

FélixLeiffeit (b. 1864, active until at least 1930), the compiler and major subject of the present archive, served for 40 years in the French Marines, with his specialty being administration, logistics and supply chains.  While perhaps less glorious than being a frontline warrior, any general will tell you that a first-class logistics man was worth hundreds of soldiers, something that was especially true in remote colonial theatres.

 

Leiffeit was born in St. Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier, in the Nièvre department of central France.  He volunteered for military service, in January 1883 joining the Regiment d’Artillerie de la Marine.  He was first stationed in Cherbourg, before serving in Réunion (1883-8) and then in Tonkin, Vietnam (1890-3), before assisting the General Staff in Lorient, France (1893-6).

 

Leiffeit arrived in Madagascar on November 25, 1896, with the rank of the

Garde 2e Classe d’Artillerie de la Marine, to serve in the Etat Major du Corps d’Occupation de Madagascar.  An exceptionally gifted organizer, his talents gained the attention of the high command, leading to his appointment as the Administrateur-Director of the Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive in April 1897, serving in that capacity until the spring of 1905.  During this time, he was promoted to a Gard 1er Classe and made a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur.  As Gallieni wrote in his June 1905 recommendation letter for Leiffeit, the artilleryman had already served in the military for 23 years and had participated in 17 campaigns, 13 of which in wartime.

 

Following his leadership of the press, with the tile of Officier d’Administration 1er Classe, Leiffeit worked at the War Ministry (1906-11).  From 1911 to 1914, he was back in Madagascar, where he served as the head of artillery at the important naval port of Diego Suarez.

 

During the summer of 1914, as World War I commenced, Leiffeit became the Head of the Entrepôt de Material et de Munitions d’Artillerie in Bourges, France.  Beginning in September 1914, he served in Paris as a senior officer at the Direction du matériel du génie, whereupon he played an extremely important role in supply material and artillery for the French War effort.  He remained in that position until retiring in June 1923.  We know little about his later life, and the last reference we can trace of him is from 1930.

 

Returning to the official press in Madagascar, in January 1898, it was moved to the colonial capital Tananarive (Antananarivo), whereupon it became known as the ‘Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive’.  During this time, the press was dramatically reorganized and professionalized, given spacious premises and provided with the best lithographic equipment from Europe.  It had a European management team of around 18 men, supported by a Malagasy staff of several dozen.

 

As will be explored below, the present archive, the Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive was one of the most capable and technologically advanced presses in Africa, printing a wide array of official documents, full feature books, newspapers, magazines, as well as complex, artistically virtuous colour lithographic plates, of a quality that would be widely acclaimed had they been made in Paris.

 

The press founded and issued several periodicals, which were anchors of the early modern media scene in Madagascar.  These titles included Le Journal Officiel, Le Vaovao Frantsay Malagasy; Le Bulletin Officiel; L’Ecole Franco malgache ou Bulletin; Les Notes, Reconnaissances et Explorations: Le Bulletin Économique; Le Bulletin de l’Academie malgache; l’Alamanch malgache; l’Annuaire; and La Table générale du Journal Officiel.

 

Leiffeit, like a good military man, ran a tight ship, being a stickler for clockwork organization, budgetary discipline and quality control.  He soon gained the admiration and friendship of General Gallieni, who would be his patron for almost 20 years.  Leiffeit also recruited an unusually competent and enthusiastic team and was clearly highly respected and liked by his senior staff.

 

Leiffeit’s eight-year-long tenure at the Imprimerie Officielle left an enduring and estimable legacy, as it set the foundation for modern media, printing, and official communications in Madagascar for many years to come.

 

THE ARCHIVE IN FOCUS

 

Most of the present archive (being 72 of the 79 documents) are housed within a lovely custom-made album book of full brown calf, with ‘Imprimerie Officielle à Tananarive 1897 à 1905’ debossed on the upper cover in gold.  The album book was perhaps a gift from the press’s employees to Félix Leiffeit upon his departure from the press.  Inside, the album features many important documents concerning the operations of the press during its early years, both highlighting Leiffeit’s role and its general activities.  Some documents are serious, highly detailed primary sources, while others are documentary or decorative.  In sum, it is the likely the finest surviving archive concerning the early days of the of the official state press of French Madagascar.

 

The archive commences with two stellar photographs of Leiffeit and his employees.  This is followed by an extensive series of manuscript, typescript, hectographed and lithographed documents that are comprehensive and high-quality records of the Imprimerie Officielle from its early period.  Placed amidst these documents are four specimen printing examples of the most stellar colour lithography, made for presentation purposes.

 

Continuing, are a series of original manuscript letters complementing the work of the press and Leiffeit’s leadership, followed by a letter of recommendation from Governor-General Gallieni for Leiffeit, supporting his promotion.

 

The then follows 3 Madagascar-printed newspapers featuring articles on the Imprimerie Officielle, and then a series of 15 of Leiffeit’s ‘performance reviews’ of his European staff at the press, which provide valuable insights into the personalities and responsibilities of the management team of one of Africa’s premier publishing institutions.

 

Additionally, there are several documents concerning Leiffiet’s service after his time at the press, in Madagascar and as a senior logistics/procurement official supporting the war effort along in France, including his manuscript service record.

 

Looseleaf, is an unrecorded printed report of the operations of the press from 1905; 2 photograph portraits of Leiffeit; as well as a trio of certificates, the relevance of which is not clear.

 

PART I – ALBUM CONTENTS:

 

1. [PHOTOGRAPHS:]

 

2. a) [“Personnel Européen de l’Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive”, November 11, 1902]. 11 x 17 cm. This is an original photograph of Leiffeit (in the foreground) and the (all European) management team of the press.

 

1. b) “Personnel Européen et Malgache de l’Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive”, November 11, 1902, folding, 11 x 34 cm, hand-stamped by a Tananarive photographer. This is a wonderful original group photograph of the entire staff of the press, including all the European and Malagasy employees.

 

1. [OPERATIONAL DOCUMENTS I:]

 

2. Joseph Simon Gallieni, Résidence Générale de France à Madagascar, ‘Décision n°197 du 3 avril 1897’. 1 f. tall quarto, hectographed in black. This document names Félix Leiffeit, a Garde 2 Classe de ld’Artillerie de la Marine du Corps d’Occupation, as the Administrator of the l’Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive, replacing a Monsieur Gendronneau.

 

3. Gouvernement Générale (Madagascar), ‘Arrête’ [du traitement de M Leiffeit, administrateur de l’imprimerie], January 1900. 1 f. tall quarto, hectographed in black. Here Leiffeit’s annual salary is fixed at 10,000 Francs.

 

4. Gouvernement Générale / Bureau de personnel (Madagascar), ‘Arrête’ [du traitement de M Leiffeit, administrateur de l’imprimerie], January 22, 1902. 1 f. tall quarto, hectographed in blue. Here Leiffeit’s annual salary is raised to 11,000 Francs.

 

5. Extract from the Journal official de Madagascar, October 1, 1898. 2 pp. quarto, newsprint. This is an extract from a local newspaper featuring an article on the history of printing in Madagascar and the establishment of the ‘Imprimerie Officiele de Tananarive’.

 

6. Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive, Règlement intérieur / Établi en exécution de la décision No. 287, du 12 Septembre 1897. Broadside, 65 x 43.5 cm. This grand broadside details the rules and mandate of the press, its hours of operation, the responsibilities of its officers and staff, its machines and printing techniques, as well as its copyright permissions and its sales agents, etc.

 

7. Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive, “Contrat de publicité dans la dernière page du Journal Officiel”, April 15, 1901. Manuscript, dark pen, tall quarto 4 pp., signed by [Joseph Simon] Galliéni, Leiffeit and others. This is a mss. contract between the Imprimerie Officielle and the publicity agent Monsieur Cannet-Lange to arrange for the advertisements that are to appear on the final page of the press’s newspaper Journal Officiel.

 

8. Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive, “Contrat de publicité dans la dernière page du journal Vaovao Frantsay Malagasy ”, September 12, 1904. Manuscript, black pen wiht some corrections in red ink, tall quarto 4 pp. This is a secretarial mss. copy of a contract between the Imprimerie Officielle and the publicity agents Mayence, Favre & Cie. to arrange for the advertisements that are to appear on the final page of the press’s newspaper Vaovao Frantsay Malagasy.

 

9. Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive, “Project de Budget pour l’Année 1905”, May 13, 1904. Folio (44.5 x 46 cm), mss. chart, black pen, 1 p., 1 large chart on 2 pp., 1 p., signed by Leiffeit. This important document is the budget of the press for the year 1905, dividing ‘Dépenses’ (Expenses) into Personnel, Material, and Transport, while ‘Recettes présumées’ (Projected Revenues) are divided into the direct revenues of the press and income derived from agents in the provinces, etc. It shows that in 1905, the press was expected to run a large deficit, with 155,800 France in Expenditures against 60,000 Francs in Revenue.  This was all to plan, as the press’s mandate required it to fulfill a great deal of government work which was inherently unprofitable.

 

1. [SAMPLES OF FINE PRINTING FROM L’IMPRIMERIE OFFICIELLE :]

 

10. A Madame, A Mademoiselle, Au General Gallieni / En Souvenir de leur Visite à l’Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive / Le 2 Décembre 1902. Colour lithograph, quarto on thick card paper, with elaborate border designs. This fine plate was printed to commemorate the visit of Governor-General Gallieni and his family to the press.

 

11. A Monsieur Gaëtan Gallieni / En Souvenir de sa Visite à l’Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive / Le 29 Août 1904. Colour lithograph, quarto on thick card paper, with elaborate border designs, including water lilies. This attractive lithograph was made to commemorate the visit of Gaëtan Gallieni (1887-1940), Governor-General Gallieni’s teenage son, to the press. Pasted to the verso is an original mss. letter (octavo, 1 p.) from Gaëtan Gallieni to Leiffeit, dated 30 August 1904, thanking him for hosting his visit.

 

12. A Monsieur Samary, Gouverneur de Réunion / En Souvenir de sa Visite à l’Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive / 12 Novembre 1902. Colour lithograph, quarto on thick card paper, with elaborate border designs in amazing, graduated rainbow hues. This amazing plate as made to commemorate the visit to the press of Paul Samary (1848 – 1911), the Governor of Réunion (in office, 1900-5).

 

13. Le personnel Européen de l’Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive…A Monsieur Félix Leiffeit… de sa mise a tableau d’Avancement, September 1899. Bi-chrome lithograph, quarto, printed on both sides (2 pp.) of thick rose-coloured card paper, with elaborate designs. This attractive and informative piece was made to celebrate Leiffiet’s military promotion from Guard 2^nd 1^st Class of the Artillerie de la Marine and is made in the name of all 18 of the European employees of the press, whose names are listed on the centre of the first side.  The list is surrounded by the portraits of Guttenberg and Senefelder; a view of the printing house; pictures of works printed by the press; and a flag bearing the names of overseas places where Leiffeit served, etc.  On the verso are two poems written in honour of Leiffeit.

 

1. [OPERATIONAL DOCIMENTS II:]

 

14. Bulletin officielle Marine, 2^e semetre 1898 / Bulletin officielle Marine, 2^e semetre 1899.

Mss., 1 p. octavo.  This document features two excepts from official bulletins commending Leiffiet for this work in establishing the press and announcing his promotion to Guard 1^st Class.

 

{The following 4 items (Nos.15 to 18) are contemporary manuscript secretarial copies of important correspondence / documents that concern the reorganization of the European personnel of l’Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive}.

 

15. Félix Leiffeit to [Joseph Simon] Gallieni, August 19, 1903. Mss. letter, tall quarto, 4 pp. This is a detailed letter on reorganizing the European personnel of the press.

 

16. “Décret portent réorganisation de Personnel Européen des Imprimeries Officielles de Madagascar” [and] “Annexe au Décret du —- 190-”, [Undated, but 1903]. Mss., tall quarto, 4 pp. This document concerns the changes made to the European management team of the press.

 

17. Gaston Dumergue (Ministre of the Colonies) to Joseph Simon Gallieni, February 13, 1904. Mss. letter, tall quarto, 2 pp. This letter concerns the reorganization of the European management of the press, addressed to Gallieni from Gaston Dumergue, who subsequently served as the President of France (1924-31).

 

18. Félix Leiffeit to Joseph Simon Gallieni, June 17, 1903. Mss. letter, tall quarto, 4 pp.

This is Leiffeit’s follow up letter (from No. 15 above) to Governor-General Gallieni concerning the reorganization of the European personnel of the press.

 

19. Joseph Simon Gallieni to Félix Leiffeit, February 17, 1904. Typescript letter on Gallieni’s official letterhead, quarto, 2 pp., signed in mss. by Gallieni. This letter and the one to follow (No. 20) concerns Leiffeit’s request to leave the press and return home to France. Gallieni informs Leiffeit that he must remain in post until at least December 24, 1904.

 

20. Joseph Simon Gallieni to Félix Leiffeit, February 29, 1904. Typescript letter on Gallieni’s official letterhead, quarto, 2 pp., signed in mss. by Gallieni. Here Gallieni informs Leiffeit that he can depart Madagascar for France as soon as January 2, 1905.

 

21. Business Card of ‘Joseph Guyon’, Administrateur des Colonies, Chef du Cabinet du Gouverneur Général de Madagascar et Dépendances. It features an mss. note, signed by Guyon, who was the Chief of Staff to Gallieni.

 

22. Félix Leiffeit. “Compte-rendu sur l’organisation, le fonctionnement et le service de l’Imprimerie de 1896 à 1904”, January 31, 1905. Manuscript, quarto, [2 pp.]. 41 ff., signed in mss. by Leiffeit. This highly important and fascinating document is an unparalleled source on the early operations of the Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive.  It is essentially Félix Leiffeit’s ‘exit interview’ in report form, whereupon, in great detail, he discusses the history; organization and operations; publications; and the finances of the press up to 1905.  It features an immense amount of quantitative data and is illustrated by 3 statistical line charts. (See No. 73 below).

 

23. Captaine Dubois, chef du bureau de la presse (Madagascar) to Leiffeit, August 21, 1897, mss. letter octavo, 3 pp. on Dubois’s letterhead, which discusses the purchase of equipment for the press shortly after its move to Antananarivo.

 

1. NOTES OF APPRECIATION:

 

Nos. 24 to 40 inclusive, are a series of ‘thank you notes’ written between 1898 and 1905 to Félix Leiffeit (and sometime additionally to his colleagues), variously expressing appreciation for their stellar management of the Imprimerie Officielle and the high quality of its productions.  The notes assume various forms, including signed mss. letters, inscription on business cards, typescripts on letterhead, as well as a telegram slip.  The authors of these letters include Joseph Simon Gallieni; General Hubert Lyautey (1854 – 1934), a legendary French soldier who had served in Madagascar and later became the first French Resident-General in Morocco (1912-25); and well as several senior French officials in Madagascar and France.

 

1. GALLIENI’S RECOMMENDATION LETTER FOR LEIFFEIT:

 

41. Gallieni to the War Minister, June 27, 1905. Letter, 2pp. quarto, indigo copy of typescript. Here Gallieni robustly supports Leiffiet’s application to be promoted to the rank of “Officier d’Administration principal”.  He notes that Leiffeit has completed “23 years of service and 17 campaigns of which 13 were in wartime” and that he had become a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 1899.  He also served for 8.5 years interrupted in Madagascar, most notably as the Director of the Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive, where he fulfilled ‘remarkable service’ to develop this “precious instrument” of “French civilisation”.

 

42. Gouvernement Général, Bureau du Personnel, Arrête accordant un conge administratif de douze mois…, Tananarive, May 12, 1905. 3 pp. tall quarto, hectographed in blue. This document gives Leiffeit 12 months of paid leave from the military, to be enjoyed in France, in recognition of his 23 years of service.

 

1. LEIFFEIT’S POST-PRESS PERIOD I

 

43. Business Card of Général Gallieni as ‘Membre du Conseil supérieur de la Guerre…’, December 27, 1912, with mss. inscription, signed.

 

44. Général Gallieni to Félix Leiffeit, January 8, 1914. Letter, 2pp. typescript, large octavo quarto, on Gallieni’s letterhead, signed in mss. In this letter, the General supports Leiffeit’s application to receive a ‘Rosette’ attached to his Légion d’Honneur, recalling that “I cannot forget the good and intelligent collaboration you always gave me during my stay in Madagascar”.

 

45. Général Gallieni to Félix Leiffeit, March 16, 1914. Letter, 2pp. typsecript, large octavo quarto, on Gallieni’s letterhead, signed in mss. Here Gallieni thanks Leiffeit for his gift of photographs and expresses his regret that the French administration had recently come to somewhat neglect Madagascar.

 

46. Général Gallieni to Félix Leiffeit, May 8, 1914. Mss. letter, 3 pp. octavo, on Gallieni’s letterhead, signed. This note, written to Leiffeit, who had returned to Madagascar to manage artillery at the port of Diego Suarez, Madagascar, comments on the important naval base.

 

47. Général Gallieni to Félix Leiffeit, May 29, 1914. Mss. letter, 3 pp. octavo, on Gallieni’s letterhead, signed. Here Gallieni continues the discussion about Diego Suarez.

 

48. Ministre de la Guerre, Cabinet du Ministre, January 16, 1916. Mss. letter, 1 p. octavo, on letterhead, signed. Here the War Ministry informs Leiffeit that he will receive his ‘Rosette’.

 

49. Business Card of Général Gallieni as ‘Gouverneur Militaire de Paris’, July 8, 1914, with mss. inscription, signed.

 

1. MADAGASCAR NEWSPAPER SAMPLES

 

50. An issue of the La Dépêche de Madagascar, April 9, 1904. Large folio newspaper, 4 pp.

This is an issue of an Antananarivo newspaper that includes an article on the Guide-annuaire de Madagascar, a l’Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive production.

 

51. An issue of the Le Petit Courier, April 1, 1904. Folio newspaper, 4 pp.

This number of an Antananarivo newspaper includes an article on the Guide-annuaire de Madagascar.

 

52. An issue of L’Echo de Madagascar, May 9, 1905. Folio newspaper, 4 pp. This issue of an Antananarivo newspaper includes a lengthy article on the Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive.

 

1. CONTINUED CORRESPONDENCE

 

53.-54. Inclusive, featuring two octavo mss. letters to Félix Leiffeit, one dated May 12, 1905 (3 pp.) and another from Maxime Desraux to Leiffeit, June 9, 1913 (4 pp.), plus Desraux’s business card featuring an mss. inscription.  Desraux was Leiffeit’s successor as the Administrator of the Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive.

 

1. LEIFFEIT’S SERVICE RECORD

 

55. État des Services, 2 pp. folio printed form with details filled in mss, September 30, 1919. This official form charts all the major developments of Leiffeit’s life for his birth in La Nièvre in 1864 to his service in Tonkin, Réunion, Madagascar and France up to him being an important logistics/procurement official for the French military.

 

1. LEIFFEIT’S HR/PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS OF HIS EMPLOYEES

 

56.-70. Inclusive. Félix Leiffeit, ‘Notes du ‘Directeur de l’Imprimerie Officielle’’, Series of 15 Reports, Antananarivo, 1902-4, each on a 2 pp. printed form, with only the front sides of each filled out in mss., all signed in mss. by Leiffeit.  This is a series of 15 HR/performance evaluations of the European employees (the management team) of the Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive, variously dated from October 31, 1902 to December 18, 1904, all written and signed by Leiffeit, on the front side of the form (while the spaces for notes by the Governor General of Madagascar, etc. one the verso are left blank).  Here Leiffeit provides details on the specific types of work and contributions of the key figures at the press, and generally give them very favourable performance reviews (he seemed very pleased with his team).  The reports, in aggregate, lend valuable insights into how a major African colonial press was operated during the fin de siècle era.  The employees evaluated include Messieurs Bailly, Desraux, Brot, Sibon, Black, Thomas, Devèze, Vielle, Joligeon, Mazier, Monclar, Aubert, Thibers, Barincon and Brigandot.

 

71. Félix Leiffeit to the Governor-General of Madagascar, April 14, 1913. Draft mss. letter, large quarto, 3 pp. In this draft recommendation letter, written by Leiffeit while he was serving in Diego Suarez, Madagascar, he speaks glowingly of Monsieur Bailly, his former deputy at l’Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive.

 

72. Maxime Desraux to Félix Leiffeit, October 5, 1930. Mss. letter, 4 pp. octavo signed. Here Desraux, Leiffiet’s successor as the Administrator of the Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive, reminisces at the point of 25 years after Leiffeit left the press.

 

PART I – LOOSE ITEMS:

 

73. Félix LEIFFEIT. Extrait du rapport sur le service de l’Imprimerie officielle de 1896 à 1904 inclus. / Colonie de Madagascar et Dépendances.

Tananarive [Antananarivo]: Imprimerie Officielle de Tananarive, [1905].

4° (29 x 22.5 cm): 16 pp., bound in original printed blue paper wrappers, string tied (Very Good, overall clean, just some light marginal toning to wrappers).

 

This fascinating document is essentially the formally printed version, albeit with a few editorial changes, of the above No. 22, Leiffeit’s “Compte-rendu sur l’organisation, le fonctionnement et le service de l’Imprimerie de 1896 à 1904” (Tananarive, January 31, 1905), and is thus an unrivalled source on the early years of the press.  This document seems to be unrecorded.  This is not surprising, as it is an internal document issued in Antananarivo in a tiny print run, so would have an extremely low survival rate.

 

74. and 75. Are two slightly different official photographic portraits of Félix Leiffeit, wearing full military uniform, clearly taken in France, likely during World War I. They measure [no. 74] 14 x 11 cm and [no. 75] 24 x 15 cm.

 

76., 77. And 79. are three original documents relating to a Monsieur François Bresson (born in 1859 in Maringues, Puy-de-Dôme department, France), including his Birth Certificate and two of his diplomas (from 1879 and 1888).  These documents were found with the archive, although we cannot discern Monsieur Bresson’s possible relationship to Leiffeit.  Perhaps further research will reveal a connection.

 

References: N/A – Archive seemingly unrecorded.