30 GARD. VERGEZE. 6,5% Obligation de F500, unissued. green. #9000. Folds. Two vignettes and underprint of the typical Perrier bottle. The source of Perrier, 17Km from Nîmes, was known to the Romans. In 1863 its naturally carbonised water was again recognised, and a decree by Napoléon III granted its firt concession. A Dr Perrier, director of a station thermale in the Gard, acquired it, and introduced it to a wealthy English friend, a newspaper owner named Lord Harmsworth. Harmsworth bought the shares, and started to popularise the water in France and in the British Empire. The water became more and more popular over the years as a fashionable drink. 1903 saw the formation of the Cie de la Source Perrier, later La Source Perrier, and now part of Nestlé.