Description:

French Miscellany
various, ca. 1613 - 20th C.
French Docs Archive, 17th - 20th C., 6 Pcs & 56pp Total. Golden Age of the Dutch Navy, Naming American Towns, 18th C. Dictionary, French Émigrés, Etc.!
Archive
A formidable French-language archive of miscellaneous documents, ca. 1613-1900, worthy of hours and hours of further research! The documents include: a political content letter attributed to St. François de Sales; a page from an 18th C. French dictionary; a letter from a French émigré to an 18th C. Philadelphia merchant; a legal document from the Hautes Alpes; a partial French translation of a mid-19th C. Dutch naval history; and an amusing essay about American naming conventions written by a French tourist. Expected wear related to age, but generally very good. Please refer to catalog photos for additional information related to condition. Ideally items should be personally inspected at our offices prior to purchase. The largest item measures 8.125" x 12.75."

The archive consists of, in chronological order:

1. A 1p manuscript document signed in French, attributed to be signed by St. François de Sales (1567-1622), the Roman Catholic Bishop of Geneva canonized in 1665. November 15, 1613. Turin, in the Savoy region. Secretarially inscribed on watermarked laid paper including an integral address leaf verso. A red wax seal and clerical docket are found verso. Expected wear including flattened paper folds, toning, and isolated edge darkening. Evenly spaced slits hint at the existence of past seals or ribbons, now missing. Else near fine. 8.125" x 11.75." Accompanied by a sizable packet of research material on de Sales, including correspondence exchanged between a former collector and the Georgetown University Library discussing known de Sales signature examples.

The document addressed to the "Gentlemen of the S[e]nate" concerned the admission of one Dufurny to the office of S[e]nator. It also mentions the receipt of letters patent from "S.A." [Son Altesse, "His Highness."]

2. A double-sided printed page in French, "HAF - HAG" (recto) and "HAE - HAI" (verso), excised from an unknown but 18th C. edition of a dictionary by Louis Morery, "Le Grand Dictionnaire Historique Ou Le Mélange Curieux De l'Histoire Sacrée Et Profane Qui Contient En Abrégé L'Histoire Fabuleuse des Dieux and Des Héros de l'Antiquité Payenne" ["The Large Historical Dictionary Or Curious Mix of Sacred and Profane History Which Contains in Abridged Form The Fabulous Story of Gods and Heroes of Pagan Antiquity…" (Paris, France). Several editions were published throughout the 1700s.
Printed on laid paper. Scattered wrinkles, even toning, and isolated foxing. 9.125" x 15.5."

Containing informative entries for historical, Biblical, and mythological figures and places. Representative entry, translated: "HAINAN, island on the coast of the province of Quang-tung in China, near Tonquin. The capital city, named Kiuncheu, belongs to the emperor of China, along with twelve cities, that are found on the island coasts…"

3. A 3pp autograph letter in French signed by one Daniel De Bray as "Daniel De Bray" on the third page. July 4, 1789. Mount Holly Road. On watermarked laid bifold paper with an integral address leaf. Red wax seal remnants found on the address leaf along with a docket. Isolated ink bleed-through. 6.25" x 7.625."

De Bray corresponds with one "Mr. E. Dutilh," almost certainly Étienne Dutilh (1748-1810), a French merchant who emigrated to Philadelphia in 1783 and was part of the Atlantic trading house Dutilh & Wachsmuth. De Bray reports that he is in failing health and intends to rent out his farm. Annuities from house rentals in London (Spitalfields) are compromised because tenants (mostly textile workers) are unemployed as the silk industry has moved to Scotland.

4. A 2pp manuscript document in French signed, being a legal document relating to an exchange of goods between local citizenry. L'An 8, or 1799. Department of Hautes Alpes, France. Secretarially inscribed on watermarked laid paper, bearing a Republican hand-stamp verso. Expected wear including chipped edges, isolated holes, folds, and mounting traces. Else good. 8.5" x 12."

5. A 36pp manuscript document in French, being a partial French translation of "Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen" ["History of the Dutch Navy"], 1833-1848, by Dutch historian Johannes Cornelis de Jonge (1793-1853), Chief Archivist of the Dutch National Archives after 1831. N.d. but probably 19th C. N.p. Bound. The unidentified scribe has copied out the portion of de Jonge's treatise describing the Dutch Navy from the earliest times until the insurrection against Spain; and from the insurrection against Spain until 1582. With numerous contemporary edits, cross-outs, and annotations. Expected wear including edge darkening and isolated smudges, with a few chipped edges, else near fine. 8.125" x 12.75."

6. A 12pp manuscript document in French signed as "Pee Dee" and initialed as "P.D." at the conclusion. N.d. but probably 19th or early 20th C. N.p. Secured at upper left by a brad. Expected griminess and weathering. Else very good to near fine. 8.25" x 12.625."

An unidentified essayist comments on the origins of American place names. Translated in part: "It is very curious to look for, in leafing through a list of 'Post Offices' of the United States, and to realize the manner in which Americans have found names for the forty thousand localities which they have created in less than a century…" The author gives many examples of American sites named after Famous Americans, Famous Foreigners, Famous Ancient, Mythological, and Biblical Figures, Colors, Minerals, Flowers, Animals, and Indigenous Words. Of especial interest is the discussion of French place names in America (p. 7).

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