NAPOLEON I: (1769-1821)

NAPOLEON I: (1769-1821) Emperor of the French 1804-14, 1815. A very good L.S., `Napol´, a bold ink signature with large bold black ink underline, one page, 4to, Paris, 28th February 1808, to Monsieur le General Clarke, in French. The letter is written in the hand of Meneval. Junot had just entered Lisbon three months earlier, and been granted the title of Duke of Abrantes, a city he occupied in November 1807. At the time of the present letter Junot enacted far-reaching measures, such as the disbandment of the Portuguese Army, with around 9,000 soldiers joining the Grande Armée´s Portuguese Legion and local militias, the proclamation of the dethronement of the House of Braganza, and the confiscation of royal assets. The handwritten document is an order to pay General Junot, as well as his army officers in Portugal for several matters, stating in part `Vous donnerez ordre qu´à date du 1er Janvier 1808, il soit mis à la disposition du Général Junot cinquante mille francs par mois pour ses frais de table, de représentation, dépenses secrètes, et une autre somme de cinquante mille francs par mois pour être distribuée en traitements extraordinaires, dépenses secrètes et aux Généraux et officiers supérieurs de son armée...´ (Translation: "You will order that, as of January 1st, 1808, fifty thousand francs per month be placed at the disposal of General Junot for meals expenses, representation, secret expenses, and another sum of fifty thousand francs per month to be distributed for extraordinary salaries, secret expenses, and to the Generals and senior officers of his army...") One very small stain not affecting the text or signature, otherwise VG

Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke (1765-1818) Duc de Feltre and Minister of War under Napoleon. Later Marshal of France in 1816, one of six created under King Louis XVIII from 1815-24

Claude François de Méneval (1778-1850) Baron of the Empire. Memoirist of the 19th century. Napoleon´s private secretary and his closest collaborator. François Gédéon Bailly, Count of Monthion, French General and Politician. He participated in the Russian campaign and would later replace General Berthier.

Jean-Andoche Junot (1771-1813) 1st Duke of Abrantes. French military officer, General of Division, during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars who served as the Military Governor of Paris 1803-1804. Well remembered known for leading the French invasion of Portugal in 1807. Junot first met the then-captain Napoleon Bonaparte at theSiege of Toulon in late 1793: Bonaparte required a man with good handwriting to write a letter for him, which Junot volunteered to do, and made a lasting impression with his witty jokes after being narrowly missed by a cannonball. After the siege, Bonaparte was made a general and Junot joined him as his aide-de-camp. However, due to his connections to Auguste Robespierre, Bonaparte lost his position and was briefly placed under house arrest. Junot and Auguste de Marmont offered to break him out, which the general declined, but went to them for assistance after his release. Junot, Marmont and Bonaparte, all temporarily unemployed, lived together in a rented room in Paris.