LÉAUTÉ (Henry). - Lot 172

LÉAUTÉ (Henry). Born in Belize, 1847—died in 1916. French engineer and mathematician, specialist in electricity, elected to the Academy of Sciences in 1890. Autograph letter signed “H. Léauté,” addressed to “My dear Doctor.” Évian-les-Bains, July 22, 1910. 1 page 1/3 in-8, on engraved letterhead from the Royal Hotel in Évian-les-Bains. A charming letter of congratulations in which Henry Léauté, then on vacation in Évian, extends his congratulations on the occasion of a wedding. He elegantly explains his inability to attend the ceremony and expresses “our long-standing and cordial regards,” a testament to his ongoing relationship with his correspondent. A key figure in the development of industrial electricity in France—and notably the director of the Société Industrielle de Téléphone and the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d’Électricité—Léauté offers here a more intimate glimpse into the social and epistolary customs of the early 20th century within scientific and high-society circles.