“KING FOR AN HOUR”
ANGOULÊME, Louis-Antoine d’Artois, Duke d’. Engraved portrait. [Paris: circa 1820]. Original stipple engraving, measuring 8 by 11-3/4 inches. Frame size: 10-1/2 by 14-1/2 inches. $225.
Original stipple engraving of Louis-Antoine d’Artois by Choubard after a painting from life by Jean-Marie Evrard, with the arms of Angoulême. Beautifully gilt-framed.
Louis-Antoine, nephew to King Louis XVI, escaped into exile following the French Revolution, from which he rallied expatriate forces against Napoleon. After Napoleon’s defeat, Louis-Antoine’s uncle became King Louis XVIII, who was then succeeded by his father, King Charles X, thereby placing Louis-Antoine next in line for the throne. During the Revolution of 1830, Charles was deposed and Louis-Antoine was briefly and unofficially crowned King Louis XIX, becoming the so-called “King for an Hour,” before fleeing once again into exile—never to return.
Tiny abrasion to stippled background, only the faintest overall foxing and single unobtrusive vertical crease. A near-fine historical print, beautifully framed.