LS in French, signed “Montgolfier,” one page both sides, 8.25 x 12.5, April 9, 1790. Interesting untranslated letter to the President of the Assembly in which Montgolfier stands by the decrees of the National Assembly and the royal instructions, and refuses to agree with the order of “primary assembly of the City of Annonay.” He notes that the decree does not provide for “calling meetings in the chief town of the district, only in a parish of the canton,” and withholds judgment of the discussions between Annonay and the neighboring Davezieux. In fine condition, with central vertical and horizontal folds. Accompanied by a French ‘certificat d’exportation’ document.
Born into a reputable family of paper manufacturers in Annonay, in Ardèche, France, brothers Jacques-Etienne and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier put their small town on the map in June of 1783 when they successfully carried out the first public unmanned hot air balloon flight there; five months later, before a distinguished crowd including King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and Ben Franklin, they would demonstrate the first free flight by humans in their balloon. With their family elevated to the nobility, Etienne continued his work with the paper mill and became a strong voice for his town. A highly scarce letter regarding Annonay’s changing political scene during the tumultuous first years of the French Revolution. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA.
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