Jean Laborde

Jean Laborde (1805 - 1878) was the son of a blacksmith who emigrated from France to India where he learned how to recover treasure from ships, a calling which took him to Madagascar. There he worked for the island's queen, amongst other things manufacturing muskets and gunpowder. Later he became the French consul, helping the government of Napoleon III to establish its influence in the country.

I only know of Jean Laborde because my father's firm in East Africa was agents for Messageries Maritimes, the French national shipping line, which ran three very beautiful passenger liners between Marseilles and Madagascar, Mauritius and Reunion, one of which was the Jean Laborde, the other two being the Ferdinand de Lesseps and the Pierre Loti. At the end of their time in East Africa the company gave my parents a trip on the Ferdinand de Lesseps to the three islands. They had a wonderful time, my father's only complaint being that the chef persisted in serving him with runny fried eggs.

I recall my father having three of these paperweights in his office, one for each ship, and my memory is that, while I was given the Jean Laborde weight, my brother had the Ferdinand de Lesseps one.

The 1953 date may relate to the foundation of the company. Although it was started in 1851 as a transport company, it wasn't until 1853 that the shipping side was split off as the Compagnie des Services Maritimes Imperiales.