French statesman and military officer (1757–1834) who became an intimate associate of George Washington and who advanced the American cause on both sides of the Atlantic. Though he espoused many of the principles behind the French Revolution while advocating a limited monarchy, extremist elements in the French Assembly declared him a traitor, whereupon he was jailed for five years. In 1824–1825 he revisited America, where he was hailed as a hero and granted a generous stipend and parcel of land. ALS in French, signed “Lafayette,” one page, 6 x 7.5, no date (“Vendredi”). An untranslated letter to the famed operatic mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran (1808–1836), mentioning an illness and his convalescence. The adjacent leaf bears the integral address panel. Several intersecting folds (faint vertical fold to “e”), some mild toning and light wrinkling, otherwise fine condition. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
