MACKAU (Ange René Armand, baron de) - Lot 212

MACKAU (Ange René Armand, baron de) Marseille, 1788 - Paris, 1855. French admiral and politician. Peer of France, Minister of the Navy and Colonies under the July Monarchy from 1843 to 1847, he played an important role in French maritime administration in the first half of the 19th century. L.A.S. "de Mackau" to Monsieur Lair, director of naval construction in Brest. S.l.n.d. [ca. 1816-1820], 1 p. in-8 oblong. Autograph address on verso: "Monsieur Lair, Directeur des constructions navales, Brest", with traces of wax seal. Interesting letter concerning stewardship and maritime supplies. Baron de Mackau asks his correspondent "to authorize Monsr Dreppe to have the battery's large hen cage made for us", adding that, after calculation, "more than 1,000 hens" will have to be housed, and that it will be impossible to place all the cages necessary for provisioning on board without this additional installation. A curious and rare testimony to the logistical concerns of the French navy at the beginning of the 19th century, evoking in very concrete terms the organization of fresh food transport for the crews. The document illustrates the material constraints of naval supply, as well as the layout of military vessels in the field. A fine naval item, preserved with its handwritten address and featuring the clear signature of Baron de Mackau.