THEVENARD (Antoine-Jean-Marie). - Lot 252

THEVENARD (Antoine-Jean-Marie). Saint-Malo, 1733 - Paris, 1815. French sailor and administrator. Vice-admiral, Minister of the Navy in 1791, maritime prefect of Toulon under the Consulate and Empire. Member of the Académie des Sciences. Important L.A.S. "Thevenard" to a colleague and maritime administrator. Lorient, 13 germinal an II [2 avril 1794]. 2 pp. ½ in-4, with address on verso and engraved vignette with the arms of the French Republic. Beautiful and rare administrative letter from the revolutionary period concerning the lack of naval officers in French military ports. Thevenard, then prefect of the 4th maritime district, requests the urgent dispatch of officers to complete naval armaments: "...in extreme need of officers to support our armaments, which we are obliged to supplement with auxiliary officers; Brest, which is in the same situation, cannot supply us with officers...". In particular, he asks for officers to be sent from the "4th arrondissement", and mentions several vessels and armaments in progress. The letter bears witness to the difficulties of organizing the French navy during the Terror, and the tensions weighing on the major arsenals. Interesting document on official revolutionary paper with printed letterhead: "Le Vice-Amiral, Préfet du 4e Arrondissement Maritime". Autograph address on verso for Toulon. Well-preserved manuscript, highly legible and of real historical interest for naval administration under the French Revolution.