NAPOLEON III: (1808-1873)

NAPOLEON III: (1808-1873) Emperor of the French 1852-70 who also served as the first President of France 1848-52. A good and clean L.S., Napoleon, one page, small 4to bifolium, Palace of Fontainebleau, 22nd June 1860, to Monsieur de Sauley, in French. The letter bears to the upper left of the front page a blind embossed crowned capital "N". Napoleon, as Emperor, refers to his own work project and states in part ` Puisque vous avez bien voulu vous charger de l´impression des planches de mon futur ouvrage, je vous prie de me faire photographier les bustes de César dont j´ai trouvé la nomenclature dans l´iconographie Romaine, par le Chevalier Mongy, Paris, 1824. Les quatre bustes dont parle cet auteur, page 19, sont d´abord: une statue du Capitole revêtue de cuirasse - 2º un buste colossal de César en possession du Roi de Naples, qui faisait partie de la collection Farnese - 3º la tête d´une statue colossale du musée du Capitole. 4º un buste de basalte noir qui a été conservé, en 1824, dans la bibliothèque du chateau de St. Cloud. Quant aux médailles vous me ferez grand plaisir de m´envoyer une épreuve dès qu´elles seront gravées...´ (Translation: " Since you have kindly agreed to undertake the printing of the plates for my forthcoming work, I would be grateful if you could send me photographs of the busts of Caesar whose nomenclature I found in Roman Iconography, by Chevalier Mongy, Paris, 1824. The four busts mentioned by this author on page 19 are: first, a statue from the Capitoline Hill wearing a cuirass; 2º, a colossal bust of Caesar in possession of the King of Naples, which was part of the Farnese collection; 3º the head of a colossal statue in the Capitoline Museum; and 4º a black basalt bust that was kept in the library of the Château de Saint-Cloud in 1824. As for the medals, I would be very grateful if you could send me a proof as soon as they are engraved...") With blank integral leaf. VG