VIDOCQ (Eugène François). Autograph letter signed. S.l., Aug - Lot 448

Lot n° 448
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VIDOCQ (Eugène François). Autograph letter signed. S.l., Aug - Lot 448
VIDOCQ (Eugène François). Autograph letter signed. S.l., August 19, 1848. One p. in-4. "Whatever your enemies may say, whose impotent hatred will break against the mirror [sic] of truth, your star will soon reappear on the political horizon, brighter than ever. Light will be shed and justice will be done; you will always be France's leading citizen. Convinced that [you] have no other desire than the happiness of our country and that all your solicitude is for the success of the Republic, I have the honor of addressing to you (and for you alone) a very exact note of THE GRAVE POSITION FRANCE IS IN. INITIATED AS I AM, I TREMBLE. Allow me to express my respect and boundless devotion to you, Monsieur, your most humble servant... " EUGÈNE FRANÇOIS VIDOCQ (1775-1857), FORMER BAGNARD WHO BECOME CHIEF OF PARIS'S SÛRETÉ POLICE (1811-1827 and 1832), acquired a dubious fortune and was dismissed both times amid scandal. He founded France's first "universal intelligence" agency, and was instrumental in two spectacular arrests following obscure police maneuvers (1837 and 1843). He published several works on the world of crime, including his highly successful Memoirs (1828). An extraordinary personality, he exerted a real fascination on writers, and was probably the model for Honoré de Balzac's VAUTRIN, Eugène Sue's RODOLPHE DE GEROLSTEIN, Alexandre Dumas' JACKAL or, paradoxically, Victor Hugo's JEAN VALJEAN and JAVERT. An early catalog excerpt presents this letter as being addressed to Alphonse de Lamartine
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