Service du Grand Écuyer. Voyage de Leurs Majestés et de Son Altesse le Prince Impérial. En Lorraine.
Paris,
1866.
In-4 (290 x 230 mm), fully tabbed, embossed green percaline, gilt title to front cover, smooth spine, gilt edges (Period binding).
Extremely rare autographed program booklet for the trip to Lorraine organized for the imperial family from July 14 to 19, 1866.
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:
"Lorsque enfin toutes ces dispositions étaient établies, je faisais établir une douzaine de programmes définitifs, comprenant l'itinéraire, l'emploi des journées et des heures, fixant les séjours et les arrêts dans les stations désignées, donnant la carte partielle des différents départements traversés, des notes historiques sur chaque localité visitée.
Ces programmes étaient distribués aux personnes appelées à faire partie du service d'honneur, afin que tout le monde fut bien au courant des obligations du voyage.
En dehors de ce livret-programme, je remettais à Leurs Majestés un carnet particulier [...]"
This detailed, fully autographed program and itinerary is composed as follows:
- A title page
- A page giving the composition of Their Majesties' Service of Honor
- A double-page table showing the division of the journey
- A double-page color map of the itinerary engraved by Erhard
- An introductory text, Reunion de la Lorraine à la France, 31 pp. by Auguste Descauriet
Then, for each department traversed, three double sheets containing :
- A statistical, historical and economic presentation of the department
- 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 Épernay, Châlons-sur-Marne, Vitry-le-Français, Bar-le-Duc, Toul, Nancy and Lunéville.
The trip took place against the backdrop of the secular celebrations marking the reunion of Lorraine with France, celebrated in Nancy from July 15 to 17 with a major program of official events and public celebrations. The aim was also to reaffirm the Emperor's power in a region and in a city where there was a strong regionalist sentiment in favor of decentralization.
It should be noted that throughout the book, mention is made of Their Majesties, including Napoleon III, and that the tasks reserved for the Emperor, such as presenting the keys to the towns he passed through or introducing notables in Épernay, are precisely described. We do know, however, that Napoleon III cancelled his participation in the trip by telegraphic dispatch from the Grand Ecuyer on July 12, two days before departure. The reasons for this cancellation are not certain, but it could have been due to the Emperor's state of health or the Austrian defeat at Sadowa. The Empress Eugenie and the Prince Impérial were therefore left alone to embody power.
The official edition, richly illustrated, appeared eight months later under the title Voyage en Lorraine de Sa Majesté l'Impératrice et de S. A. I. Le Prince Impérial (Plon, 1867).
Very rare booklet-program of this important imperial journey, drawn up and printed in a dozen copies by the Grand Écuyer to serve as a logbook for members of Their Majesties' honorary service.
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 - Sophie MOUTON. L'Album du voyage en Lorraine de l'Impératrice Eugénie en 1866 : un exercice de réécriture de l'histoire franco-lorraine. https://www.academie-stanislas.org/academiestanislas/images/Colloques/Rattachement/08-Mouton.pdf
2 000€
In stock
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