Service du Grand Écuyer. Voyage de Leurs Majestés en Bretagne.
Paris, 1858.
In-4 (280 x 235 mm), fully tabbed, embossed black percaline, gilt title to front cover, smooth spine, gilt edges (Period binding).
Extremely rare autographed program booklet for Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie's trip to Brittany and Normandy, August 3-21, 1858.
Bearing the letterhead of the Service du Grand Écuyer, it was drawn up by General Emile-Félix de Fleury (1815-1884), Grand Écuyer, head of the imperial family's service of honor and in charge of organizing its travel arrangements for official trips and ceremonies.
General Fleury, an early Bonapartist diplomat, describes the establishment of these programs in his Souvenirs:
“When all these arrangements had been made, I had a dozen definitive programs drawn up, including the itinerary, the use of days and hours, setting out stays and stops at designated resorts, giving a partial map of the different départements crossed, and historical notes on each locality visited.
These programs were distributed to those called upon to take part in the service of honor, so that everyone was fully aware of the obligations of the trip.
In addition to this program booklet, I gave Their Majesties a special notebook [...]”.
This detailed, fully autographed program and itinerary is composed as follows:
- A title page
- A notice on Brittany
- A double-page table showing the division of the journey
- A double-page color map of the itinerary engraved by Delamare
Then, for each day of the journey, two double-page spreads containing :
- A special map and the itinerary of the journey in tabular form, with the various stations, statistical and historical information on the towns crossed, and the imperial family's up-to-the-minute timetable.
- The program of their majesties' stay in table form, listing in detail the course of their days, with receptions, visits, inaugurations, presentations, dinners, balls, etc.
The imperial family visited Caen, Cherbourg, Brest, Quimper, Lorient, Vannes, Napoléonville, Saint Brieuc, Saint Malo, Saint Servan and Rennes.
This trip was recounted by several authors, including Jean-Marie Poulain-Corbion in his Récit du voyage de Leurs Majestés l'Empereur et l'Impératrice en Normandie et en Bretagne, August 1858.
Napoleon III's trip to Brittany was an important event in the history of the Armorican peninsula. It enabled Napoleon III to establish real power over the region, and to win support for his cause: thanks to the subsidies, donations and interest he showed in Brittany, the people offered him substantial support and gave him their votes in plebiscites.
Comte FLEURY et Louis SONOLET. La Société du Second Empire. Tome II. Albin Michel, 1911. pp. 7-8. - Comte FLEURY. Souvenirs du général comte Fleury. Tome II. Plon-Nourrit, 1908. pp. 161-162
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2 200€
In stock
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