1830 manuscript in French, please help identify were from

Hi,
I wonder if anyone can identify where the below text is form. The seller told me that it was displayed in London theatre and comes from the “Les Miserables “ musical play. Does anyone recognise the text? Is this text from Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables”? I did a Google book search and a general search, but it does not pinpoint what book the text is from. I also did a text translation, I was successful there.
I am new to this, don’t know how to start searching for provenance.
How old do you think this is? Is it a manuscript?

Thank you.
Kind regards,
Simona
@Bronwen
@PepperAnna
@Any Jewelry
@Ownedbybear
@evelyb30

 

Could you please clarify? Are you asking for the source of the text or whether the sheet dates to 1830?

Debora

 

I am asking for the source of the text…. I ruled out the possibility of the sheet dating to 1830 because the seller told me that it was displayed at the Les Miserable musical in London. Is there any chance that the sheet dates to 1830?

 

It is a recruitment ordinance, for the military.

If it was used in the musical, it can't be older than 1985. They wouldn't have used a genuine antique ordinance but a copy.
I don't remember if Victor Hugo had the complete text of an ordinance in his book, but I don't think it likely. They probably found an old one and copied it for a realistic depiction of the scene.
Looks like you have a stage prop.

Also, the original ones were usually pasted on walls, so damaged once taken down.

I have never seen the musical, but I imagine they use one copy per show. I think every show one would be pasted on the stage 'wall'.

 

As your document is printed it is not a manuscript, those are handwritten documents. If I look at the pictures it seems quite glossy. That indicates quite modern paper or it was laminated somehow.

It is quite hard to date, because the makers want it to look as it was from 1829.

 

It is inside a plastic cover to protect it. The paper itself is very thin, I will take it out tomorrow and post a photo of it.

 

Thank you.
It’s funny you mentioned that, he did say he worked as a props men and “it was difficult to remove it “ as if it was glued on something. It does not have any traces of glue at the back. Also, he seemed to forget the words and said one thing then something else completely unrelated. Bless him. Probably this is a fragment of it or maybe is an original, but he could not remember which is which. He did sell another one just before me, I am now thinking maybe that one was the “Les Miserables” one, lol.

 

The date and language fit in with Les Miserables, so I think this is the one.

 

Try to shine a light behind the paper. If it is paper from the time (pre-industrial), you should see lines like this:

 

A genuine prop from Les Mis might be worth close to what an orig recruitment poster would but you'd need good documentation.
A genuine U.S. Civil War broadside could be worth up to a grand plus-but French militaria ?

 

Thank you for sharing and showing what to look for. I have attached some photos, it looks like the paper has some granulations, but more in a square shape, like pixels. The paper fees a bit heavier than newspaper paper and has a pleasant smell. It seems it was removed from another pice, as I can see the tears in both sides.
There are no traces at the back of glue.
I wonder if these photos can give a better understanding of when it was produced.
Thank you.

 

That is great news, thank you. I did not pay a thousand pounds for it…but it’s good to hear that it has some value.The man has given me his business card, he has an online gallery. What is your opinion, should I call him?
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Simona

 

Something like that could be on laid paper (shown in the photo), but by 1830, wove paper would be just as likely if not more so. (The first Canadian stamps - 1851 - were printed on laid paper.)

I would think that if this was original, you would be able to find another online. There are certainly plenty of archives out there.

The only Recrutement document, Department de la Seine, that I found online was 1870.

 

Simona-Email/call the guy & ask him to supply you with a written signed letter stating that was a 'stage-used prop for Les Mis,theater location,how he got it,etc.This provenance will raise the value,though prob not a grand.

 

Ok, so this is not 19th century paper and probably a modern prop for the musical. I am sorry, that is not my area of expertise, so I cannot help you any further with this.

 

Ditto.

A fun piece to have if you are a fan, but I don't know if there is any value in it. I could be wrong, of course.

"The original London production ran from October 1985 to July 2019, playing over 13,000 performances"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Misérables_(musical)#

If, as I think, a new recruitment flyer or poster was used for each show, 13,000 were used, and there are probably a few boxes left. Yours doesn't look used, so it was probably never on stage, which could mean an even lower value.