HISTORY - Napoléon I (Ajaccio 1769 - St. Helena Island 1821) - Letter signed “Napol

Napoléon I (Ajaccio 1769 - St. Helena Island 1821)Letter signed “Napol”, dated “Milan le 17 Prairial an 13” by the French Emperor. Letter written by Claude François de Méneval (1778-1850), Napoleon's private secretary and closest collaborator from 1802 to 1813. The recently crowned King of Italy (he had just been crowned in Milan on May 26) authorized the recipient of this letter to transmit: “…à Monsieur Mérode-Vesterloo le décret par lequel je le nomme Maire de Bruxelles. Vous lui écrirez pour lui témoigner ma satisfaction…”, etc. As for the Piedmont archivist, he hasn't named him yet because his “intention est de nommer à cette place un Piémontais attaché et sûr”. Guillaume Charles de MÉRODE (1762-1830), former minister to the German Emperor Joseph II of Habsburg, was appointed Mayor of Brussels by Napoleon in 1805 and Count of the Empire in 1809. The only member of his family at the time, he is the descendant of all the present-day Mérode family. ? p. In-4. Watermarked paper (anchor and "F. I." numeral).