Description:

Joseph-Ignace Guillotin
Paris, France, January 8, 1799
Joseph-Ignace Guillotin Invites Legislators To Partake of "turkey with truffles" In the Waning Days of the Directory
ALS

A 1p autograph letter in French signed by physician and politician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1738-1814) as "Guillotin" at lower right. 19 nivôse l'An 7 [January 8, 1799]. Paris, France. Guillotin's letter and the accompanying original transmittal leaf or envelope, being two different pieces, are matted and framed behind glass above a handsome engraving of Guillotin after François Bonneville, and a print showing the guillotine operating during the Reign of Terror. Not examined out of the frame. The letter exhibits uneven damp-staining, flattened transmittal folds, and isolated pinholes. A minor area of ink erosion/loss partly obscures three words towards the letter bottom, and two letters of Guillotin's signature are affected by slight damage. Expert restoration at the top and bottom of the blank right margin. Else very good and extremely scarce. The sight size of the letter is 4.375" x 7.125" while the overall size of the frame is 17.375" x 20.5" x 1.25." Provenance: Purchased at Walter R. Benjamin Autographs, Inc. Comes with the original purchase receipt, No. 34145, showing it was purchased for over $500 in June 1988.

Guillotin addressed this letter to Louis-Nicolas Lemercier (1755-1849) during the waning days of the French Directory. In 1799, French government operated via a bicameral legislature comprised of the upper house, Le Conseil des Anciens [Council of Ancients or Elders], and a lower house, Le Conseil des Cinq-Cents [Council of 500]. Lemercier was a member of the Conseil des Anciens, and he would become the legislative body's secretary that year, in L'An 7, and later serve as its last president before it dissolved. The Directory's days were numbered: Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état, known as 18 Brumaire, was only eleven months into the future.

Guillotin invited Lemercier - as well as two other members of the Conseil des Anciens - to come over for a meal of "a turkey with truffles" in a few days. Not only does Guillotin write the date using the conventions of the Republican Calendar, but he also refers to the weekdays using the newly implemented 10-day-cycle. In this way, he says "duodi" to refer to the second day of the 10-day cycle, and "tridi" to mean the third day.

Guillotin wrote in part, translated, with punctuation silently added to improve clarity:

"I was really angry the other night about not having met you at your house. I hope to repair this loss when you become my neighbor, at the riding school, as your amiable companion [wife?] made me hope, she who really wanted to compensate me for your absence. In awaiting this happy moment, can you come, next duodi, after the conclusion of the Grand-Council, to eat your individual share of a turkey with truffles, with your colleagues Chassiron and Bouteville? You will double our pleasure. If you are not free that day, we can put it back to the day after, tridi. In this case, summon me right away, so that I can tell them [?] on the spot. Salutations and best wishes.

Guillotin."

The other invitees to Guillotin's dinner were "Chassiron and Bouteville," which referred to fellow Councilors Pierre-Charles Martin de Chassiron (1753-1825) and Louis-Ghislain de Bouteville de Metz (1747-1821).

Guillotin's dinner invitation dates nearly five years after the Reign of Terror, a bloody period of political executions and social purification which showcased the killing machine named after him. Guillotin's interests in the medical field, criminal justice system, and capital punishment led him first into politics and political activism. As a member of the National Assembly, Guillotin promoted criminal justice reform, seeing a crying need to modernize and humanize methods of French capital punishment then in practice, which included being broken bone by bone on a wheel or being burned alive. Guillotin's machine aimed to do just that: to decapitate those condemned to execution quickly, painlessly, and efficiently.

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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  • Dimensions: framed: 17.375" x 20.5" x 1.25"
  • Medium: ALS

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