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Carl Valdemar Danneskiold-Løvendal

1773–1829

Born
30 Jan 1773, Paris
Country of birth
Kingdom of France, today France
Died
1829
facts
9
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Paris

    Birth, Paris

  2. Died

    Death

What was it like?

The world around Paris, 1773: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Carl was born the same year as Louis-Philippe I, Thomas Young, and Giuseppe Acerbi.

Born the same year

  • Louis-Philippe I

    King of the French from 1830 to 1848 (1773-1850)

  • Thomas Young

    English polymath (1773-1829)

  • Giuseppe Acerbi

    Italian naturalist, explorer, composer (1773-1846)

  • Giuseppina Grassini

    Italian opera singer (1773-1850)

  • William Henry Harrison

    president of the United States in 1841 (1773-1841)

  • Klemens von Metternich

    Austrian diplomat, foreign minister and Chancellor (1773–1859)

Fashion

Common clothing colors

Common women’s clothing colors were mostly dark, with black, gray, and brown making up 45 percent of garments, while red accounted for 21 percent.

Cost of men's shoes

Men's shoes were considered expensive items, costing twice as much as those worn by women.

Music
Around 1771–1771

Decorating for the Fête-Dieu festival

During the annual Fête-Dieu celebration in Paris, residents decorated the streets by hanging various types of tapestries from their houses, sometimes as high as the second floor.

Cost of a village festival license

To host a village fair or festival, peasants applied for a license from the commandant that cost about one French crown.

Getting around

Rapid descent by ramasse sled

When crossing the snowy Mount Cenis pass in the Alps, travelers could descend into Lanslebourg in just 15 minutes using a specialized sled called a ramasse.

Around 1775–1799

Dangerous conditions on poorly maintained roads

Travelers in carriages sometimes had to pay local peasants to walk alongside and support the carriage to prevent it from tipping over on flooded or muddy roads. In severe weather, travelers were occasionally forced to wait for days in miserable inns until conditions improved.

Daily life

Basic structure of rural peasant homes

Peasant homes were typically built of wattle and daub with thatched roofs, often consisting of a single room used for sleeping, working, and daily activities. Many rural homes had small windows without glass, and the floor was made of packed earth.

Demanding daily tasks for water and light

Domestic tasks like fetching water from fountains and managing oil lamps or candles for light were costly and physically demanding labor for all of society. Home access to abundant, affordable water and lighting did not occur until the 1950s.

Food
Around 1775–1775

Bread Was the Staff of Life

In 1775, a French laboring family of four typically consumed 1.2 tons of grain per year, with urban workers spending half their salary on bread.

Bread as the Daily Staple

Adult men were expected to consume between 4 and 5 livres of bread daily, making it the essential staple of their diet.

Prices and wages

Cost of bread and meat

Bread was the essential staple, though its price fluctuated wildly; by the 1770s, it cost between 4 and 5 sols in the heart of the kingdom. Meat was expensive, with beef, mutton, or veal often costing 9 to 15 sols per pound.

Around 1775–1799

Meat as a luxury item

Meat was considered a luxury product for workers; a master worker could afford 300 grams of meat per day, while in 1771 some bourgeois complained of meat prices rising to 12, 14, or 15 sous per pound.

Work

Annual wages for servants

Servants were often paid annually, with a female servant receiving 24 to 33 livres plus small benefits, while a foreman might earn 84 to 90 livres.

Long hours and mixed payments

A daily working day lasted from 10 to 13 hours, with agricultural work often paid in a mix of money and goods, such as wooden shoes or cloth.

News and letters

Faster and cheaper local mail delivery

Before the 1760s, recipients typically paid for postage upon arrival, but the introduction of Petites Postes in Paris and other cities offered faster, cheaper service and allowed senders to prepay. In Paris, these local services offered mail pickups as often as nine times a day.

Mail travel times between major cities

In the late 18th century, letters from Paris to major French cities typically took about one week to arrive. For instance, delivery from Paris to Bordeaux took five to six days, and to Lille about one week.

During their lifetime

  1. 1775

    The Flour War of 1775

    The Flour War of 1775 involved widespread riots across northern France after grain trade deregulation caused bread prices to rise by over 50 percent.

  2. 1783

    First human flight in 1783

    King Louis XVI hosted the first successful human flight in a hot-air balloon at Versailles, lasting 25 minutes on November 21, 1783.

  3. 1789

    Storming of the Bastille in 1789

    On July 14, 1789, Parisian citizens stormed the Bastille prison, a pivotal event that signaled the start of the French Revolution and the collapse of royal authority.

  4. 1804

    The 1804 Civil Code enactment

    The Civil Code, enacted in 1804, established a new legal framework that standardized civil laws across France, significantly impacting daily life.

Family

Parents

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.