History T - Z
Talleyrand, Charles Maurice (1754-1838)
Document signed in the name of Napoleon I.
French diplomat. He worked successfully from the regime of Louis XVI., through the French Revolution and then under Napoleon I., Louis XVIII., Charles X., and Louis-Philippe. Known since the turn of the 19th century simply by the name Talleyrand, he remains a figure that polarizes opinion. Some regard him as one of the most versatile, skilled and influential diplomats in European history, and some believe that he was a traitor, betraying in turn, the Ancien Régime, the French Revolution, Napoleon, and the Restoration. Partly printed document signed “Charles Maurice”. Document signed “Décret Impérial”. 1p., 11.25 x 17.25 inch, 1808 July 27, blind embossed seal at the bottom. Excerpt from the minutes of the State Secretariat. Imperial Decree concerning the convocation of a town meeting in Charente Maritime on 01.10.1808. Signed by Talleyrand in dark black ink and countersigned by the secretary of the interior Emmanuel Crétet (1747-1809). Folds, handling wear, else good condition.
Price: $ 750 / € 625
Wellesley, Arthur (1769-1852)
Fine autograph letter signed
1st Duke of Wellington was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman and one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain. His defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 put him in the top rank of Britain's military heroes. Autograph letter signed “Wellington”. 3 pages, bifolium, written on first page and two pages inside, 4.5 x 7.25 inch. London, 1824 December 11. Addressed to Lord Verulam “I have received your note of greetings; and I am sorry to tell you that the Cabinet will sit certainly on Monday and Tuesday and probably later next week” … saying that the Duke of York cannot come and that in the circumstances he intends to propose the Duke to come in January as he is tied up with Lord Hartford, and continuing with similar digressions about possible meetings. Mailing folds, else good condition.
Price: $ 780 / € 650