November 2012 Auction Ends Thursday, November 15th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/15/2012
Napoleon Bonaparte autograph note signed as general-in-chief of the French Army in Italy during the First Italian Campaign in the French Revolutionary Wars. Bonaparte here orders the arrest of a Genoa governor. Written in French, it translates: ''Send to General to carry out right away the mission suggested by citizen [Minister] Faipoult. / The general in chief / Bonaparte''. He writes the order upon a letter sent to him by Guillaume Charles Faipoult de Maisoncelle, French minister to Genoa. Also written in French, it's datelined Genoa, 17th of Vendemiaire [October] in the 5th year of the French Republic [1796]. The minister reports: ''...Another new arrest of the 46 recruits who were sent here for Naples and who stopped in Novi, where Governor Oliveri gave them a certificate and declared them for the King of Naples...'' Napoleon's signed note appears on the upper margin of the first page of the minister's 2pp. letter on 2 sheets. Measures 8.5'' x 12''. Near fine. Matted in a gilt wooden frame to an overall size of 46.25'' x 28.75''. Document is flanked by a printed translation and a print of Jacques-Louis David's 1812 portrait called ''The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries.'' Sliver of chipping to frame left and bottom edges, else near fine.
Napoleon Bonaparte Autograph Note Signed Ordering the Arrest of a Genoa Governor During the First Italian Campaign
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