18 - LOUIS XVI.—Proclamation by the King dated November 12, 1791. Evreux, Ancelle, 1792; 8 pp., paperback, in-4 format, inserted into a slightly earlier red morocco folio case, with the coat of arms of Mademoiselle d’Artois on the covers, framed by gold lace, and pink silk endpapers.

LOUIS XVI.—Proclamation by the King dated November 12, 1791. Evreux, Ancelle, 1792; 8 pp., paperback, in-4 format, inserted into a slightly earlier red morocco folio case, with the coat of arms of Mademoiselle d’Artois on the covers, framed by gold lace, and pink silk endpapers. An interesting proclamation by Louis XVI aimed at encouraging émigrés to return to France, particularly his brothers Provence and Artois. “Come back—it is the wish of each of your fellow citizens; it is the will of your King”… A lovely portfolio adorned with rare coats of arms: it was made for Sophie de Bourbon, known as Mademoiselle d’Artois (1776–1783), daughter of the Count d’Artois—the future Charles X—and Marie-Thérèse of Savoy. Upon the death of this young princess, the perceptive Marie-Antoinette wrote to her brother on December 20, 1783: “The Count of Artois was grieved, as he ought to be, by his daughter’s death—that is to say, he was deeply moved by her death and throughout her illness. Indeed, this child possessed a level of reason and sensitivity, right up until the end, beyond her years, but he knew her too little to be in despair, and I find that he handled it very well and, above all, very naturally. As for the Countess of Artois, who feels nothing, she was no more grieved by her daughter’s death than by anything else.” On the back, a gold-stamped title featuring Perseus.