French navigator (1793-1875). Autograph letter signed ("C. Laplace"). Fort-Royal (Martinique). Large 8vo. 2¼ pp. on bifolium.
$ 2,663 / 2.500 €
(34054/BN29770)
Written from Fort-Royal, where he commanded a division between 1844 and 1847. Laplace informs his correspondent that he has kept the addressee's nephew aboard his frigate and thinks of returning him to Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe). He further writes that he had planned to return to Guadeloupe sooner, but circumstances had prevented him from traveling. - Laplace was commander of La Favorite with which he circumnavigated the globe between 1830 and 1832, promoting France's overseas trade. In 1837-1840 he made a second voyage during which he visited Hawaii with the 52-gun frigate L'Artémise to end the persecution of Catholics (as the French saw it), an intervention known as the Laplace Affair.
- Slightly spotty..