Manuscript DS in French, signed “payez, Marie Antoinette,” one page, 9.5 x 14.5, July 1, 1786. An order to Treasurer General Randon de la Tour, directing him "to pay to Mr. Mollin, Maitre d'hotel de la table du Premier Maitre d'hotel, the sum of 200 livres which we granted him for the clothes of our office boys…during the first six months of the year…The present sum of two hundred pounds will be spent and allocated in the expenditure of your accounts by our dear and well beloved people of the accounts of the King, our very honored lord and husband in Paris." Boldly endorsed at the conclusion by Marie Antoinette and countersigned by her secretary Nicolas-Joseph Beaugeard; in 1793, Beaugeard was a conspirator in the failed plot to rescue King Louis XIV from execution. In fine condition, with scattered light foxing. Consignor notes that this originates from the collection of Theogene Chavaillon. Marie Antoinette's expenditures to maintain her flamboyant lifestyle and lavish palace were enormous, and during this time she was growing increasingly unpopular among the French people. In 1785, her public image had been tarnished beyond repair with the 'Diamond Necklace Affair,' when she was implicated in a fraudulent scheme to purchase an expensive necklace. A wonderful example boasting the bold, crisp signature of the infamous queen.
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