EXPEDITION OF EGYPT. -MARTIN (Pierre-Dominique). History of - Lot 99

EXPEDITION OF EGYPT. -MARTIN (Pierre-Dominique). History of the French expedition to Egypt. Paris, J.-M.Eberhart, 1815. 2volumes in-8, (4)-iv-412 +(4of which the 2 versos are blank)-320-(2)pp. half-brown marbled basane with corners, smooth spines filleted and decorated with flowers with garnet and burgundy title-pieces, yellow edges (period binding). First edition. A Ponts-et-Chaussées engineer, Pierre-Dominique Martin (1771-1855) took part in the Egyptian Expedition and was a member of the Institute of Egypt. The present work is essentially based on his own experience in the Orient. More than 30 pages bear comments in the hand of the comte de Lavalette: t.I, pp.132-135, 209-211, 219, 221, 226-227, 246, 256, 264-266, 288, 294-297, 302, 306, 315, 317, 318, 337, 388, 391, 392, 412, t.II, p. 9, 15, 16, 131, 136, 137, 306-307. With some notes by another hand (t.I, pp.142-143). The present volume has been trimmed short at the binding, resulting in a loss of manuscript words in the margins. On the naval battle of Aboukir (t.I, pp.209-211 and 226-227): "J'arrivai à l'es[cadre] d'Aboukir le 1e [r de] thermidor [July 19, 1798] on the [frigate] Arthémise, which was charged with escorting Grand Master Ho[mpesch, of the Order of Malta, after Bonaparte's capture of the island] to the islands of [Zara] at the bottom of the [driatic] Gulf. My orders were to go on to Corfu and from there [to] Janina with Aly Pacha, who, fortunately for me, [was] fighting in front of Widdin [in present-day Bulgaria] against Passwan-Oglou. As I rallied the f[lotte] at Aboukir, I was pursued by an English squadron which came to rec[onne] it for the first time. I boarded the Orient and asked the admiral for details of his position and plans. This is what the admiral told me: "I was free to return either to Toulon or to C[orfou].... Stay with us," he added, "and you will witness the battle, and I hope you will bring good news to [the] galen chef...". On General Kléber (t.II, p.131): "There is some truth in the portrait of General Kléber, who was indeed a man of great military merit and gifted with rare qualities of heart. But his character had peculiarities that made it difficult to deal with [him], and his mind was prone to criticism and opposition, which made [him] dreaded. His soul was elevated, but his mind had little delicacy, and his language was coarse to the point of cynicism. His German accent gave his expressions something original and piquant, the effect of which he knew and often abused. He didn't like the emperor, but he did him justice, and he used an image to portray his superiority over other men, an image that is impossible to entrust to the pa[pier]. His death was a great misfortune for the army of the East and even for France." The comte de lavalette also refers to the death of Sulkowski (t.I, p.256), the siege of Acre (t.I, pp.294-297, 302, 306), Bonaparte's departure for France (t.I, p. 412), and so on. Postmaster General under the Consulate and Empire, Antoine-Marie Chamans de Lavalette (1769-1830) married Emilie de Beauharnais, niece of Empress Josephine. After serving as Bonaparte's aide-de-camp in Egypt, he became administrator of the Caisse d'Amortissement, then Postmaster General (1801-1814). Condemned to death in 1816 for his support of Napoleon I during the Hundred Days, he was saved by a bold maneuver on the part of his wife, who took his place in prison. He then took refuge in Bavaria with Prince Eugène. Pardoned, he was able to return to France in 1822. Provenance: Eugène de Beauharnais, according to an attached handwritten note written at the request of the Duchess of Leuchtenberg, with an apostille by Michel Hennin (1848), who served Eugène de Beauharnais in Italy and Bavaria, and was made chamberlain to the King of Bavaria: these notes indicate that the work was then, erroneously, considered to be annotated in the hand of Prince Eugène.