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Auction: SW1012 - Bonds & Shares Certificates of the World
Lot: 32

Agence Havas. Certificat d'Inscription d'une action nominative, Catégorie A F 250, Paris, 27. May 1942. Nr. 10144. Small tear, professionally repaired. L'agence Havas, the world‘s first press agency, has set many milestones in the history of communication. It was founded in 1832 by the banker Charles-Louis Havas under the name Agence des feuilles politiques, correspondance générale. The Agence started by translating news from foreign newspapers and selling the translated stories to French newspapers. In 1838, Havas compiled a «correspondance ministérielle» for the French government. It developed an international correspondence-network and used the pigeon post for fast transmission. In 1845, the agency was one of the first users of the telegraph. In the year 1855, Havas entered the later important and highly profitable advertising market. It also agreed on a cooperation with its former staff members, Julius Reuter, London, and Bernhard Wolff, Berlin. In 1879 Baron Émile d'Erlanger bought the agency from the Havas family and transformed it into a SA with a Capital of F 8.5 Mio. Under German occupation and the Vichy regime, the agency lost it independence. The advertising branch was regrouped into the Agence Havas SA with capital of F 162 Mio. The old shareholders, however, were only allowed to keep 32% of the capital. 48% went to the German Munus Company and 20% to the French state. The information branch, however, was moved to the ’Office français d'information’. In 1945, the office was changed into today’s Agence France-Presse. The Agence Havas was first nationalised and then, in 1987, privatised once more. With the printed signature of Léon-Prosper Rénier (1857-1950), the President of the company in the difficult years, between 1924 and 1944. Very rare item. VF.

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