269 - ORDER BOOK OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF HOLLAND

ORDER BOOK OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF HOLLAND IMPERIAL HOUSE OF ECOUEN AND SAINT-DENIS OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN HORTENSE. A rare, large, six-gusset wallet in green morocco leather, with an inscription in gold filigree on the front reading, “Secretary of Commands of Her Majesty the Queen of Holland,” “Imperial Houses of Écouen and Saint-Denis,” bordered by a frieze alternating between foliage and motifs representing the Arts. The six gussets are fastened with a braided green cotton cord. The flap is lined with red morocco leather and decorated with a gold-stamped interlaced frieze. The interior is lined with green moiré and features five partitioned compartments. The flaps are protected by a red morocco leather flap decorated in the same style. The portfolio closes with a lock in the shape of a shield engraved with a radiant sun and a frieze, secured by five anchor points. It comes with a key featuring a triangular shank. Good condition. First Empire period (signs of use). Length: 48.5 cm. Height: 34 cm. Thickness at base when closed: 6.5 cm. Provenance: Emile Brouwet Collection, Master Henri Baudouin, auction of May 27 and 28, 1935. Hortense de BEAUHARNAIS (Paris 1783 – Arenenberg 1837). Daughter of Alexandre de BEAUHARNAIS and Joséphine TASCHER de la PAGERIE, sister of Eugène de BEAUHARNAIS. She married Louis BONAPARTE for reasons of state against her will in 1802 and became Queen of Holland in 1806. Three children were born of her marriage to Louis Bonaparte, including Louis-Napoléon, the future Napoleon III (1808). She was appointed Princess Protector of the Educational Institutions of the Legion of Honor on December 16, 1809, by her father-in-law, Emperor Napoleon I. A former student of Madame Campan (director of the Château d’Écouen school), the Queen of Holland served as a true patroness, regularly visiting the students, particularly at the Château d’Écouen. During her visits, the most deserving young women were introduced to her, and festivities were organized in her honor. Upon the fall of the Empire, Hortense was made Duchess of Saint-Leu by Louis XVIII, at the request of Tsar Alexander, and, upon Napoleon’s return from Elba, she held court for him: it was at her home in Malmaison that he retired in June 1815, following his second abdication. Exiled during the Second Restoration, Hortense, thanks to Metternich’s protection, took refuge in Switzerland, where she purchased Arenenberg Castle (1817). René-François VALLET, Count of Villeneuve, born in 1777 in Paris, came from an old family of Anjou; his father was a member of the Finance Committee and treasurer of the city of Paris. He was appointed chamberlain to Prince Louis in 1804, then chamberlain to Queen Hortense and secretary to the Queen of Holland in 1807. In 1809, Napoleon had appointed Queen Hortense as Princess Protector of the Imperial Houses of Education. Our portfolio, which once belonged to Vallet, was dedicated to the extensive correspondence between the directors of the schools. The Château d’Écouen was the site of the first school established to accommodate young noblewomen of modest means or the daughters of legionnaires who had died for France. The first students of the educational institutions were appointed in 1807 and entered the Château d’Écouen in September. A second institution was established in Saint-Denis in 1809, but it did not open its doors until 1812 under the direction of Madame du Bouzet. Our portfolio can be dated to the period 1809–1810, since both schools existed as of 1809 (even though the Saint-Denis school was only theoretical, with the first classes not beginning until 1812) and up to 1810, since Queen Hortense theoretically lost that title (as Holland was annexed to the Empire).