French civil servant, solider and Member of Parliament (1877–1932) most notably remembered for the formation of the Maginot Line after WWI, which was comprised of a series of permanent concrete forts and field positions along France’s border with Germany. Scarce AQS in French signed “Maginot,” on an off-white 11.5 x 4.5 paperstock sheet. Maginot writes in full: "It is important to desire peace, but to desire peace at any price will surely bring the country to war...or to servitude." In very good condition, with a horizontal fold lightly passing through the last letter of the signature, some light rubbing, a faint pencil notation, trimmed edges, and scattered light feathering to the ink of the text and signature. After Maginot persuaded Parliament to contribute 3.3 billion francs for his envisioned line of defense in 1930, he took ill at the end of December, 1931, and passed weeks later, never seeing the completion of his lofty goal. During WWII, the German would prove a more foreboding adversary than the fortress could withstand, circumventing the line through hills and marshlands which had been formerly impenetrable. RRAuction COA.
