MOREAU (François-Joseph). Born 1789, died 1862. Obstetrician - Lot 111

MOREAU (François-Joseph). Born 1789, died 1862. Obstetrician, member of the Académie de Médecine, professor at the Paris Faculty of Medicine. L.A.S. to a prefect. Paris, December 3, 1853. 2 pp. in-8. Blue administrative franking stamp. Interesting letter of recommendation written by the famous obstetrician François-Joseph Moreau in favor of a conscript of the class of 1852. The doctor intercedes with the prefect to obtain a certificate allowing the young man, recently incorporated as a military nurse, to benefit from temporary leave for family reasons. Moreau details the family's dramatic situation: the conscript's brother is already serving in the 28th line and is ill, while the young man remains the sole support of his wife and family. In particular, he writes: "... would need this certificate to obtain a leave of absence that could return him momentarily at least to his wife and family, for whom he is the sole support..." The letter testifies to the moral and social authority exercised by leading Parisian physicians under the Second Empire, who were frequently called upon to act as intermediaries in administrative and military affairs. A fine, highly readable document, combining human concerns, social assistance and military administration in the aftermath of conscription in 1852.