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72 LOUIS XIV, king of France. Signed letter to Pierre Arnoul, intendant of the galleys at Marseilles. 25 July 1712 louis xiv fills his armies from the galleys Letter signed by the Sun King, hinting at France’s precarious military position in the closing years of both his 72-year reign and the War of the Spanish Succession, instructing Pierre Arnoul, the intendant of the galleys at Marseille from 1710, to release 431 convicts to serve as soldiers. Pierre Arnoul (1651–1719) held an important role in the French navy for nearly 50 years, naval intendant (a royal civil servant) at Marseilles (1673–4, 1710–19), Toulon (1674–9), Le Havre (1680–1), Bayonne (1681), and Rochefort (1683–8), alongside important administrative and fortification roles during the 1690s and 1700s. Under Louis XIV, sentencing to the galleys was the routine fate for criminals, deserters, and prisoners of war. In the following years advancement in sailing ships rendered the galleys increasingly obsolete, and the galley corps was abolished in 1748. Folio leaf (367 × 242 mm), 14 lines in secretarial hand, signed by Louis XIV and by Louis Phélypeaux (Chancellor of France from 1699 to 1714), addressed verso. Housed in paper sleeve by the French dealer Saint-Hélion, c. 1950s. Minor age toning and soiling from handling, folded for sending with address panel, 4 neat ribbon slits on each side, tiny hole affecting the P of Phélypeaux’s signature, else in very good condition. £2,500 [157153] 73 MCALPINE, Alistair. The Servant. London: Faber and Faber, 1992 First edition, first impression, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Roger [Katz] with best wishes and many thanks Alistair”. The recipient was general manager of Hatchards bookshop from 1991 to 2010.
McAlpine (1942–2014) was an advisor to Margaret Thatcher, Conservative Party treasurer from 1975 to 1990, and deputy party chairman from 1979 to 1983. He was a strong ideological ally of the Thatcherite project and opposed the later Conservative leaders. “As Machiavelli’s The Prince described a code of conduct for political leaders, so Alistair McAlpine explores the relationship between the Prince and his or her devoted aide – the Servant. The result is an entertaining guide to survival in a world of suspicion and envy, of strategic alliances and ruthless disinformation” (jacket). Octavo. Original black cloth, spine lettered in gilt. With dust jacket. Fine in fine jacket. £175 [158531]
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