Description:

Henri II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé LS Several Months Before French Victory at Elne

A 1p manuscript letter in French signed by Henri II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé (1588-1646), as "henry de bourbon" near center. March 8, 1841. Paris, France. Secretarially inscribed on cream laid paper recto, with the integral address leaf found verso bearing two red wax seals, each artfully incorporating yellow silk strands. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds and uneven edges. Minor loss to four small areas, nowhere near the text or signature, probably caused by removing the letter from a mount. Isolated discoloration around the seals recto. Scattered pencil inscriptions from a former collector, and traces of a printed catalog description found at lower left. Else near fine and very legible. 8.25" x 11.5." Accompanied by a former collector's research, notably photocopies showing Henri de Bourbon signature examples.

Henri II de Bourbon dictated this letter to one "Monsieur de la Pottivir [?]" the Councilor Administrator of "Justice, Police, and Finance in Normandy."

Speaking of a communication from "Mr le Vicomte" received on the 20th instant, the Prince de Condé told his correspondent the he "did not refuse him [le Vicomte] my lines." He emphasized to the Councilor "the assurances that I give you" and urged him to "take the better part in the obligations."

Henri II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé was the head of the senior-most cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, making him a "prince du sang," or "prince of the blood." The Prince de Condé was heir presumptive to the French throne during the 1590s, and was second-in-line to the French throne from 1611-1638. He played a significant leadership role during the minority of Louis XIII, though he eventually opposed the regency of the young king's mother, Marie de' Medici. He served as Governor of Burgundy from 1631 until his death in 1646.

The Prince de Condé commanded French armies in the Pyrenees after 1638. He became one of the most well-known French commanders of the French-Spanish War, a corollary conflict enveloped within the greater Thirty Years' War. The Prince de Condé led several notable military campaigns at the French/Spanish border. The failed siege of Fontarrabie [Hondarrabia, Spain] was a humiliating upset in which Condé's French forces--almost double the number of Spanish defenders--were routed and fled. Yet this reversal was followed by two important victories in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of southwestern France: the July 19, 1639 fall of the Spanish fortress at Salses, and the June 29, 1641 fall of Elne.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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