Jean-François De Lapérouse
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JEAN-FRANÇOIS D E L A P É R O U S E and his companions 49TH CALIFORNIA BOOK FAIR February, 12th-14th 2016 Pasadena Convention Center Booth 720 JEAN-FRANÇOIS D E L A P É R O U S E and his companions cahier n° 7 49TH CALIFORNIA BOOK FAIR February, 12th-14th 2016 Pasadena Convention Center Booth 720 Une version française est disponible sur le site www.deproyart.com 21, rue Fresnel. 75116 Paris M. + 33 (0)6 80 15 34 45 - T. +33 (0)1 47 23 41 18 - F. + 33 (0)1 47 23 58 65 [email protected] Conditions de vente conformes aux usages du Syndicat de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne et aux règlements de la Ligue Internationale de la Librairie Ancienne N° de TVA.: FR21 478 71 326 [LAPÉROUSE, Jean-François de Galaup, comte de] [A collection of manuscripts, most of them autographs]. These documents were bound together in the early A REDISCOVERY. 1920’s for Comte René Philipon, one of the Pope’s EXCEPTIONAL COLLECTION OF LAPÉROUSE’S AND HIS COMPANIONS’ MANUSCRIPTS: 11 PIECES, INCLUDING: chamberlain, whose wife, born Pauline Dalmas de Lapérouse was the great-grand-niece of Lapérouse FOUR AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPTS OF LAPÉROUSE, ALL PRESENTED AT THE 1888 “CENTENAIRE” EXHIBITION: (by his sister, born in 1742). He bought them (1) AT THE AGE OF 29 YEARS IN 1770, DURING A MISSION separately but most of them had been exhibited ON THE COAST OF BRITANNY. (2) ON THE NECESSARY ORDER FOR THE PROPER RUNNING in the famous Centenary exhibition of Lapérouse OF A SHIP. (1888) showing how important they have always (3) REMARKABLE DOCUMENT, AUTOGRAPHED ENTIRELY, ENTITLED “INSTRUCTION POUR NAVIGUER DANS LE DÉTROIT been seen to be, even back then. Four of the pieces D’HUDSON” (INSTRUCTIONS TO NAVIGATE IN THE HUDSON STRAIT). IT IS PREPARATORY TO HIS PERILOUS EXPEDITION – one autograph by Lapérouse and the others by his TO HUDSON BAY (1782) DURING THE AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, AND THEREFORE A TRUE AMERICANA. officers – deal with preparing the ships for the great (4) ON FURNISHING EQUIPMENT FOR THE BOUSSOLE ON HIS GREAT CIRCUMNAVIVATION (1785). and tragic circumnavigation. Autograph material by Lapérouse, or in fact any material relating to the AND SEVEN OTHER DOCUMENTS EMANATING PRIMARILY FROM HIS COMPANIONS (5 to 11). voyage, is very rare, thanks to the disappearance of BINDING ca. 1920. Ivory vellum, large gilt navy anchor and painting on the sides the entire expedition in 1788. PROVENANCE: M. Lacaille, former magistrate, according to the catalogue of the 1888 Centenaire -- Comte René Philipon, the Pope’s chamberlain, whose wife, born Pauline Dalmas de Lapérouse was the great-grand-niece of Lapérouse (by his sister, born in 1742) -- Charles Dupuy, nephew of the former, who added some documents -- René Bonnaud $ 90,000 4 5 1. The importance of Signals. « Signaux pour La Côte. Isle d’Ouessant. » (Signals for the Coast. Island of Ushant) Manuscript document written by an unknown hand, with AUTOGRAPH CORRECTIONS BY LAPÉROUSE (nearly 72 words on the first two pages) and ONE LONG AUTOGRAPH COMMENTARY BY LAPÉROUSE ON 13 LINES, brown ink, 3 pp. folio, some folds consolidated by a discrete adhesive tape [1769-1770]. Autograph commentary : “If the fleet consisted of 40 ships of the line, the lighthouse keeper of Ushant would raise the three flags: red in the middle, blue on the North or South flagpole depending on the route that the army was taking and white on the third flagpole. If the army was friendly, he would put the white flag in the middle and the red in place of the white and the blue would always designate the route that the army was taking. If the army moored, he would put a pennant of the same color as the flag on each flag and would fire three cannon shots. If the army sailed, he would lower the pennant and put the blue flag on the north or south flagpole depending on the broadside that the army would take and fire 5 cannon shots. If the army turned back, he would replace its blue flag.” Louis XV bought the island of Ushant in 1764 from the Marquis de Rieux whose family had owned it since the Middle Ages. The King immediately gave it to the Navy Department which was thus able to organize the guarding of the entrance to the English Channel and watch over Brest harbor thanks to a system of signals sent from the lighthouse of Stiff built by Vauban in 1695, and relayed by those on the islands of Mullein and Saint-Mathieu. These instructions were therefore given in 1769 or 1770 to the young Lapérouse then aged twenty-eight or twenty-nine. It was with his mentor the Chevalier de Ternay that in 1768- 1769 he had accepted various missions on the waterways in Brittany. Ternay had “made accesses to Brest a specialty” (Mr. de Brossard, Lapérouse, 1978, p. 205). These instructions are annotated in the hand of Lapérouse because in 1770 Roquefeuil then commander of Brest harbor had commissioned him to establish a system of signals capable of informing the commander of Brest of the arrival and movements of war or merchant ships. Maurice de Brossard relates that: “during the weeks of bad weather, in the impractical waters of the Ushant that he came upon, Lapérouse observed that the English had ceased their surveillance and had been planting flagpoles and lookouts equipped with alarms from island to island. He returned in December [1770] mission accomplished (...) then gave his account” (Lapérouse, op. cit., p. 130). 6 7 2. Order and discipline according to Lapérouse. « Du Service particulier des vaisseaux. » (On the chain of command on ships) AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT OF LAPÉROUSE, 2 p. folio, black ink, few after 1765: “Ships of the 1st rank or with three bridges, their general staff will be made up of a cap[tan], a second cap[tan], lieutenants and 6 ensigns; ships of the 2nd rank: a captain in second, 3 lieutenants, 3 ensigns; ships from 74 to 70: a cap[tan] 4lt[ieutenants] 4 ensigns (...) corvettes with fewer than 18 cannons carry 6 or 4, a captain, two ensigns, a marine guard acting as officer. All orders given aboard a ship will come from the captain. All officers of his general staff will be responsible for the details under his authority, will each have individual inspection of a part of the crew, follow the works or exercises of the division they have been entrusted with, will target consumption sheets with the masters of their division, will present to the officer in charge of detail, will inform the captain of special talents of each of the men of their division, will inspect their belongings, making sure before the ship’s departure that each man who is entrusted to them has the quantity of belongings required by the captain (...) will be in charge of making sure that the sailors suffer no injuries, will serve as their advocate to the captain for any favors they may have to ask for, will make sure that the share of takings in time of war is correctly paid to them (...) [about] purchases that [the sailors] will have made onboard, from belongings or other items coming from the sale of the belongings of the deceased. The officers will be responsible for these various details under the authority of the captain”... The text written here by Lapérouse is a kind of extract, a personal vade mecum, taken from the service regulations aboard war vessels. It deals with the composition of the staff on each type of vessel, frigates or corvettes, as well as the mission entrusted to each ship’s officer concerning the persons dependent on him. All these procedures seem to be derived from the famous Ordonnance de 1765 which ruled the organization of vessels in the fleet. In any case, we recognize the style of command of Lapérouse in the extreme attention to detail on the life of the men, to their survival, clothing, spirit. Louis XVI himself recommended to him in his famous Instructions to pay very particular attention to the morale and the physical health of his crews. 8 9 3. The expedition to Hudson Bay. « Instruction pour naviguer dans le détroit d’Hudson traduite du pilote anglais. » (Instructions for navigation in the Hudson Strait translated from the English Pilot) AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT OF LAPÉROUSE, 4 pp. folio: “On the coast of the southern entrance to the Hudson Strait and on the mainland of New Britain, usually called Labrador, is a cape which was named Cape Chidley by Captain Davis [John Davis1]. The strait is only 20 leagues wide. The tide there is very strong. The flow is as strong as the ebb. The bottom cannot be seen at 250 fathoms [400 meters]. On the south coast of the said strait is the island of Button 2 at S/SE of Price’s Cove 2a. The flow in the strait comes from the East. At the end of ebb tide, whirlpools and large waves are formed that we suppose come from the inequality of the depths and a multitude of rocks underwater. At one league from land, we find 140 fathoms of water, fine golden sand. From the south coast there is a place called Hopes advance 3. Further along on the strait on the north coast is the island of God mercy4. On the south coast is an island called Hold with hope 5 and on the north coast is the Cape of Queen Anne. The whole north coast is a broken land. And at one hundred and forty-four leagues from the cape of Queen Anne is a point called Broken point.