LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 April Marketplace Auction #87041  / 

90321

Louis Philippe Autograph Note Signed

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:38.00 USD Estimated At:150.00 - 200.00 USD
Louis Philippe Autograph Note Signed
<B>Louis Philippe Autograph Note Signed</B></I> "<I>Louis Philippe</B></I>" in exile. One page, 4.75" x 5.25", dated June 12, 1850, S. Leonards. The note is addressed to the banking firm of Coutts & Co, "<I>I inclose sic the weekly draft for payment of our expenditure here. You will observe that it is drawn by the Queen, & that it must be imputed sic on her account.</B></I>" A very good note with a small tear at the left bottom corner. Louis-Philippe (1773 - 1850) was king of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. He was the last king to rule France. He was known as Philippe Égalité for his liberal leanings. In his first exile (1793-1815) after the first French Revolution, Louis-Philippe visited the United States for four years, staying in Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, where he taught French for a time and lived in lodgings over what is now the Union Oyster House, Boston's oldest restaurant. After the abdication of Napoleon and the restoration of the monarchy under his cousin King Louis XVIII, Louis-Philippe returned to live in France, claiming sympathy with the citizens of the country. He openly sided with the liberal opposition under Louis XVIII and then even more so under the reign of Louis's brother, King Charles X. In 1830, the July Revolution overthrew the régime of Charles X. The Chamber of Deputies proclaimed Louis-Philippe, who for eleven days had been acting as regent, as the new French king. The new monarch took the style of "King of the French," a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarch's title to a <I>people,</B></I> not to a <I>state.</B></I> Louis-Philippe repudiated the legitimist theory of the divine right of kings. He ruled in an unpretentious fashion, avoiding the pomp and lavish spending of his predecessors. Despite this outward appearance of simplicity, his support came from the wealthy middle classes. At first, he was much loved and called the "Citizen King" and the "bourgeois monarch," but his popularity suffered as his government was perceived as increasingly conservative and monarchical. An economic crisis in 1847 led to the citizens of France revolting against their king again. He disguised himself and fled Paris. Riding in an ordinary cab under the name of "Mr. Smith," he escaped to England. There he lived in exile until his death on August 26,1850, only 82 days after he wrote this note.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
Sign In to Bookmark Lot