Contemporary copies, in a clerk's hand, of the reports gathered under the direction of the Duc de Beauvilliers for the instruction of Louis, Duc de Bourgogne (1682-1712), heir to the French throne. Questionnaires concerning every aspect of political, social, and economic life were sent out from Paris to the Intendants. The substance and tone of the individual volumes differ widely; the numerous contemporary copies vary textually. The Mémoires were edited and digested, appearing throughout the 18th century, most notably in Boulainvillier's Etat de la France (1727). In 1881 the Comité des travaux historiques of the Ministère de l'instruction publique sponsored the publication of the two volumes " ... Généralité de Paris."
