The Third Republic of 1870 required much maneuvering and luck before its
laws were formulated by 1875. Repression of the Commune of Paris in 1871
and facing down the monarchists gave the republic respectability by 1880.
The popularly elected deputies of parliament had also gained ascendancy over
the executive branch of president and cabinet. Republican forces succeeded in
wresting control over the educational system away from the church in the
1880s and finally separated the church from the state in 1905. The republic
was shaken by scandals over presidential abuses, parliamentary bribery in the
projected building of the Panama Canal, and the court-martial of the Jewish
army captain Alfred Dreyfus as an alleged spy. The ultimate effect of the
long-drawn-out Dreyfus Affair, however, was to discredit further the remnants
of anti-republican aristocrats, army officers, and clergy and to solidify the
republic. Industrialization proceeded rapidly during this period.
Here we feature a select group of commercial letters from this
turbulent period, each attractively adorned

with a blue 25 centimes value postage stamp called a Ceres
( Ceres being the Roman Goddess of agriculture, from whence
comes the English word 'cereal' ). Each envelope is in very nice
presentation condition and shown in actual size below.