265-[MOLLIEN (Nicolas-François)]. Mémoires d'un ministre du Trésor Public, 1780-1815. Paris, Fournier, 1845, 4 vol. in-8, approx. 480 pp. per volume, 9 folding tables (budget for 1806 to 1813 and situation of the Treasury), red chagrin, ornate ribbed spine, Du Seuil-style decoration on covers, crowned numeral in center, interior lace, gilt edges (contemporary binding). Second edition after a first edition in 1837 published confidentially for the author's family, and which never appeared in any catalog. "Memoirs written from 1817 onwards to justify himself (cf. the introduction to the second part). All these questions are addressed, including the financial situation of France at the time of Bonaparte's accession, interviews and correspondence with Napoleon, the financial principles followed by the minister, the study of budgets, the effects of the continental system, the financing of wars, and public attitudes to taxation. The work concludes with the situation of the Imperial Treasury's general fund and a refutation of the "alleged misappropriations of the Imperial government denounced in July 1814". Remarkable memoirs which are indispensable for the internal history of the Empire" (Tulard). A fermier-général on the eve of the Revolution, Mollien resumed his career as a finance official under the Consulate, and soon became head of this ministry. He played a key role in the creation of the Cour des Comptes (1807). His memoirs, often technical but always precise, are first-rate. Tulard, 1034. A very fine copy bearing the Baron de Barante's cipher, with his bookplate. A moving letter from Mme Mollien to Baron de Barante, pasted on the verso of the first cover. Some brown spots.