BAUMAN RARE BOOKS 40 De Bourrienne’s Memoirs Of Napoleon Bonaparte, Extra-Illustrated With Hundreds Of Engravings, With A Document Signed By Napoleon Expanded edition of de Bourrienne’s classic biography of Napoleon, with numerous plates, expanded to from four volumes to eight and abundantly extra-illustrated with about 300 engraved plates, including portraits, scenes, views and maps, with a document signed by Napoleon. “Bourrienne, a French statesman, studied at the military school of Brienne, where he was on friendly terms with the young Napoleon. In 1797 he became Napoleon’s secretary,” an appointment which “continued during all the most brilliant part of Napoleon’s career” and afforded him the intimacy upon which the Memoirs are based (CBD:189; preface). First published in French in 1829; in English translation in 1830. Bound into the first volume is a manuscript document from 1799 signed by Napoleon (as “Bonaparte”). The document, a manuscript letter, concerns the operations of the French Army in Egypt; it reads in part: “Take advantage… of the days when… General Dugua can stay at Damietta to disarm the army there, arrest suspect men and send them to Cairo. Disarm the villages, take hostages and take complete control of Lake Manzala. As long as you are not master of this lake, you cannot be sure of controlling Damietta… Try to learn the name of the English frigate and if you should learn that they are disembarking somewhere to get provisions, let them disembark for a few days in order to have the time to take them in an ambush... I salute you. [signed] Bonaparte.” Napoleon document with unobtrusive evidence of glue removal along one edge; joints to beautiful bindings expertly repaired. 61(NAPOLEON) DE BOURRIENNE, Louis Antoine Fauvelet. Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte. London, 1836. Four volumes bound in eight. Octavo, late 19th-century full red morocco gilt, custom slipcase. $25,000
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