Zicht op het Beursgebouw in Parijs c. 1827

Ernest Jaime’s undated print shows the Bourse building in Paris using engraving and etching. The neoclassical architecture of the Bourse, completed in 1826, was intended to convey stability, order, and the rational management of capital; the lifeblood of a modernizing French state. Jaime's print captures this ambition, but also hints at the social realities underpinning this vision. Note the inclusion of horse-drawn carriages and figures on foot. These create a scene of bustling commercial activity. The Bourse was not just a building, but a social space, a theater where fortunes were made and lost. Such images served to promote the idea of Paris as a center of finance and modernity, attracting investment and bolstering national pride. To fully understand this image, one might consult financial records of the period, architectural plans, and even popular literature that depicts the social life of the Bourse. The print is not just a depiction of a building but evidence of France's evolving economic and social structures.