French prince and military (1839-1899). Autograph letter signed. Rome. 8vo. 2 pp. on bifolium.
$ 161 / 150 €
(92381/BN61666)
To the lawyer and former police chief of Paris Joseph Marie Piétri, informing him of his imminent departure to England to visit the exiled Eugénie de Montijo in Farnborough Hill and a planned private meeting with the loyal Bonapartists Théodore Grandperret and Thomas W. Evans in Paris on his way back to Italy: "Je pars aujourd'hui directement pour l'Angleterre. J'arriverai à Farnborough Hill vendredi soir - je vous prie de me donner de vos nouvelles à Farnboro [...]. Je resterai quelques jours, et irai ensuite à Paris pour causer avec Mr Grandperret et le docteur Evans.
Mes amitiés à votre fils [...]". - Joseph Marie Piétri (1820-1902) was a Corsican Bonapartist, who served as prefect of different departments between 1853 and 1866, when he was appointed chief of the Parisian Police, a post previously held by his brother Pierre Marie, who had resigned following the attempt on Napoleon's life in 1858. On 4 September 1870, Joseph Marie Piétri hastily left France and followed Napoleon III to exile. From 1879-85 he served as senator for Corsica. - The lawyer Théodore Grandperret briefly served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Religious Affairs during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. In 1877 he was elected Life Senator. - The American dentist Thomas W. Evans (1823-1897) had many famous and important clients, including Napoleon III and the Imperial family. In 1870 he assisted Empress Eugénie in escaping from Paris. - Well preserved..