DOCUMENT NAMING A CHEVALIER OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE, WITH ILLUMINATED COAT OF ARMS AND LARGE WAX SEAL, BOLDLY SIGNED BY NAPOLEON WHILE ON HIS HONEYMOON

NAPOLEON. Document signed. Anvers [Antwerp]: May 3, 1810. Single folio vellum leaf, measuring 16 by 20-1/2 inches, calligraphic engraved document to recto, engrossed by hand and with illuminated coat of arms; imperial seal pendant in red wax (4-3/4 inches in diameter); document and seal floated, matted and framed with seal window framed, entire piece measures 27 by 26 inches.

Large and striking manuscript document on vellum, a patent of arms conferring the order of Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur on Charles Louis Bourgeois de St. Paul—issued while the Emperor and his new bride Marie-Louise of Austria were visiting Antwerp on their honeymoon—boasting fine calligraphic detail, an illuminated coat of arms, a large wax seal and Napoleon's bold signature ("Nap").

After the coup of 18th Brumaire (November 9, 1799), First Consul Napoleon faced threats to his rule from both Jacobins and royalists. To ensure the continuity of his rule, he organized a plebiscite that elected him Emperor of the French in 1800. As a hereditary ruler, a mere assassination would not necessarily bring about a restoration of the ancien régime, as he would have an heir to claim the throne. Once secure as Emperor, Napoleon established his own order of nobility that would allow him to cement his power throughout the French Empire. His authority to do so was established by a constitutional decree in 1808 which gave him, as noted in the present document, "the right to give the titles that we would think convenient to those among our subjects who distinguished themselves for services rendered to the State." Prominent figures who cooperated with Napoleon were rewarded with new titles of nobility. Documents concerning Napoleon's awards of nobility are rare (although he granted these titles to over one thousand individuals between 1808 and 1814). As the political winds shifted dramatically within a few years, many who were honored to receive these titles found themselves soon after in an uncomfortable position and would have had good reason to see these documents destroyed. Very few such documents come to market, and even fewer still include the original ornate wax seal.

This elaborately produced brevet document grants the title of Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur to Charles Louis Bourgeois de St. Paul, a Commissaire des Guerres en Premiere Classe, an important military administrator. (Napoleon himself established the Légion d'Honneur in 1802 as the highest French order for military and civil merits, an order that still exists today.) Somewhat atypically, this particular document was produced in Antwerp: Napoleon and his new bride Marie-Louise of Austria were married in a civil ceremony on April 1, 1810, but did not honeymoon until April 27. At this time they traveled through Northern France, Belgium and Normandy, returning to the Palace of Saint Cloud on June 1. Napoleon conferred this patent of arms during this trip, presumably to a loyal Commissaire living in or near Antwerp. The ennoblement of Charles Louis Bourgeois de St. Paul is listed by de Genouillac in the Dictionnaire des anoblis, 1270-1868, the letters patent noted there as 13 May 1810. In this document he is noted as a "Commissaire des Guerres de Premiere Classe." Docketed on verso by the Chancellor of the Senate. With original tin storage tube.

Some minor handling marks and creasing, overall an excellent document signed by Napoleon, with the desirable wax seal. Beautifully presented.