28th May, 2020 10:00
Printed Books, Maps & Autographs
France under Napoleon. Manuscript report in French, 1803
Sold for £1,900
France under Napoleon. Manuscript report in French on the current state of France, entitled 'Considerations sur l'Etat present de la France, ce 1er Juin 1803', contemporary manuscript in French on 12 large folio pages, handwritten in brown ink on a total of three folded sheets of laid paper, each watermarked with Strasburg lily and posthorn D & C BLAUW, and countermark BA, sheet size when folded 38 x 24 cm (15 x 9.5 ins)
(Quantity: 1)
A major document written at the height of the threat of the invasion of Great Britain by Napoleon's Armée d'Angleterre, or Armée des cotes de l'Ocean, which numbered as many as 200,000 men gathered along the French coast at Boulogne. Napoleon's invasion armay was financed by the sale of France's North American lands to the United States in 1803, called the Louisiana Purchase. So sure were the French of victory that a triumphal column was erected at Boulogne in anticipation of the successful invasion. Britain had resumed war with France in May of 1803, thereby breaking with the Treaty of Amiens signed on 25th March 1802, following repeated infringements of the peace treaty by Napoleon.
England, and London in particular, had been a haven ever since the French Revolution of 1789 for emigré French royalists and noblemen, who assisted the British with several attempts to overthrow Napoleon during the mid to late 1790s and early 1800s. During this period, a complex spy network was organised on the continent by Sir Francis Drake, British Ambassador to Bavaria, and the British Government received much useful information in this way. Although the present manuscript document is unsigned, it is written in an elegant educated French italic hand. At this time (June 1803), the British were providing assistance to French royalists in England in the organisation of an assassination plot on Napoleon masterminded by General Jean-Charles Pichegru (1761-1804) and General Georges Cadoudal (1771-1804), known as the Pichegru Conspiracy. The plot was uncovered by French secret police in early 1804, and they were both arrested on February 28th and March 9th 1804 respectively. Pichegru was found strangled in his cell on April 5th 1804, and Cadoudal was executed on June 28th.
This extensive report provides detailed information on the state of the current government under Napoleon as Premier Consul, the structure of French society, the army, and French public opinion on the current war with England. The text is divided into chapters (Gouvernement, Peuple, L'Armée, Religion, Moeurs, L'Education, Agriculture, Finances, plus a final section entitled Opinion publique sur la guerre actuelle avec l'Angleterre). The first and third chapters (Gouvernement and L'Armée) are the longest in length. Chapter 1 provides character assessments of various ministers: Cambaceres ('peu d'aptitude aux affaires'), Le Brun ('grand travailleur, est sans credit. Le 1er Consul a eu soin de l'isoler'), Talleyrand ('le 1er Consul a besoin de lui, mais foncierement il ne l'aime ni l'estime a cause de sa grande immoralté'), Regnier ('une honnette homme... il jouit de l'estime de la majeure partie de la nation'), and Francois de Barbé-Marbois, the Finance Minister, ('jouit de peu de constance et de peu de credit, attendu que jusqu'a present ces travaux n'ont presenté aucune resultat avantageux'). The text then goes into great detail describing the despotic character of Napoleon: 'Le Gouvernement, reduit residant exclusivement dans la Personne de Bonaparte; il devient necessaire de s'etendre un peu sur le caractere et sur les moyens de ce chef de la Republique. Il y auroit une partialité puerile a lui refuser des talens. L'experience et l'usage des affaires lui ont donné de la penetration et un coup d'oeil juste. The writer states 'Il est d'un caractere decidé et absolu, dans toutes les choses qu'il juge pouvoir forcei par son autorité, ou par la peur, mais ce caractere l'abandonne des qu'il croit la sureté de sa personne, ou celle de ses interets, compromises', and provides examples of apparent conflict in Napoleon's interactions with other revolutionary leaders ('les chefs des Jacobins'), such as Jourdan and Angerau, and goes on to say that it could be argued that Bonaparte is detested by all parties. 'La France desire en générale un autre ordre de choses, mais l'impression du regime sanguinaire des premieres années de la Revolution est encore trop recente a sa memorie pour que le peuple ose faire la moindre tentative: Il est dans cet etat de la peur et d'apathie qui produit toujours une revolution aussi longue et aussi sanglante que l'a été celle de la France. Le 1er Consul n'ignore point cette indisposition generale des esprits contre lui, et ce sentiment lui fait prendre des mesures, des precautions pour la sureté de sa personne, qui tiennent a la pusillanimité, et dont le motif n'echappe a personne'.
The final section of this report on the state of public opinion regarding the war with England, points out that the French newspapers had been forced by order of the Government to announce that the people supported the current war, and that Napoleon had found it necessary, in order to calm and reassure the people, to post a broadside in every commune in the land, in which he declared that the other continental powers would not take any part in this new war that he was going to have with England, whereas common opinion believed that Russia was working to form a coalition against France. The text ends 'Il est de l'interet le plus puissant pour le 1er Consul qu'il n'eprouve point de revers. S'il en avoit, ce peuple que ne l'aime point et qui ne tolere patiemment l'ordre actuel de choses, que pour l'amour de la tranquilité individuelles, perdrait patience et on verrait la France livrée a des nouvelles secousses'.
The author of this important secret report must have been a royalist opponent of Napoleon, and if not written by Pichegru or Cadoudal themselves, could be by a prominent fellow emigré such as the Comte d'Antraigues, then residing in Saxony, a diplomat, spy, and political agitator against Napoleon.
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Auction: Printed Books, Maps & Autographs, 28th May, 2020
Important Travel, The David Wilson Library of Natural History (Part I), The Leon Paul Library of Fencing, Army Lists and Military Books from the Library of Lt Col R J Wyatt MBE TD and a large collection of Vinyl Records.
To see a page-turning version of our catalogue, please see the Virtual Catalogue.
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14. If, on collation, any named items in the catalogue prove defective, in text or illustration, the buyer may reject the lot provided he/she returns it within fourteen days stating the defect in writing. This however will not apply in the case of unnamed items, periodicals, autograph letters, manuscripts, music, maps, atlases, prints or drawings, nor in respect of damage to bindings, stains, foxing, marginal wormholes or other defects not affecting the completeness of the text, nor in respect of lack of list of plates, inserted advertisements, cancels or subsequently published volumes, supplements, appendices or plates or error in the enumerating of the plates, nor in respect of defects mentioned in the catalogue or announced at the time of sale.
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The amount is calculated as follows:
Royalty For the portion of the Hammer Price (in Euro)
4.00% up to 50,000
3.00% between 50,000.01 and 200,000
1.00% between 200,000.01 and 350,000
0.50% between 350,000.01 and 500,000
0.25% in excess of 500,000
Invoices will be issued in Pounds Sterling. For the purposes of calculating the resale royalty the Pounds Sterling/Euro rate of exchange will be the European Central Bank reference rate on the day of the sale. Please refer to the DACS website www.dacs.org.uk for further details.
18. These conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.
Buyer's Premium :
The buyer's premium is 20%, except those lots asterisked (*) in the title for which Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to the premium, resulting in a buyer's premium of 24% inclusive of VAT. Eligible items include manuscripts, prints, photographs, drawings, framed maps, paintings, pens and other objects which are subject to VAT at a rate of 20% on the buyer's premium as part of the Auctioneers Margin Scheme. VAT zero-rated items such as books, unframed maps and albums are not subject to VAT on the buyer's premium.
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An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Dominic Winter Auctioneers website (dominicwinter.co.uk). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
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An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Invaluable website (invaluable.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
Payment (UK Buyers)
Payment is preferred by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you with your invoice.
Payment can be made in cash at the Cashier's Office, either during or after the sale. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque (Pounds Sterling only), please allow 5 working days for the cheque to clear before collection of goods.
Credit or Debit Card payments will not be accepted by telephone unless by prior arrangement with the auctioneers. Card payments can be made in person at our premises but must be accompanied by relevant ID confirming address details. We do not accept payments by American Express.
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Payment must be made by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you on your invoice. No card payments will be accepted unless by special prior arrangements with the auctioneers. All transfers must state the relevant invoice number. The amount we receive must be the total due after currency conversion and the deduction of any bank charges (normally £7).
UK Shipping
We are not specialist shippers. Some items, such as framed & glazed or fragile goods, will require specialist handling and buyers will be asked to use Mailboxes or RF Shipping Ltd. (details below).
For non-fragile items and items of reasonably small size, we offer an in-house packing and shipping facility for UK buyers. When possible, purchases will be sent by either Royal Mail Special Delivery or DPD overnight service. The charge for this service is variable (£15 minimum per parcel) and will be added to your invoice. Please note shipments to the Highlands and Islands may require shipment by courier and may be more expensive. Please contact us for a quote before bidding.
For larger packages and fragile goods, we recommend Mailboxes, Pack & Send or RF Shipping Ltd who will collect fully paid-for purchases from us twice a week and liaise with the buyer direct. For more information please contact Sarah Ball by telephone on +44 (0)1285 860006 or email sarah@dominicwinter.co.uk. These companies will require payment direct for their services.
