Autograph letter signed.
8vo. 2 pp. on bifolium.
€ 150,00
To the lawyer and former Paris chief of police Joseph Marie Piétri, informing him of his imminent departure for 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 return journey 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 various 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, Piétri hastily left France and followed Napoleon III into exile. From 1879 to 1885 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 (1823-97) had many illustrious clients, including Napoleon III and the Imperial family. In 1870 he assisted Empress Eugénie in escaping from Paris.
Well preserved.
