Item ff.24r-24v - Letter from an unidentified person, probably to Jean Sylvain Van de Weyer

Identity area

Reference code

MCOL/Van de Weyer Albums/Album 1/ff.24r-24v

Title

Letter from an unidentified person, probably to Jean Sylvain Van de Weyer

Date(s)

  • undated (Creation)

Level of description

Item

Extent and medium

1 leaf of paper, 2 p.

Context area

Name of creator

(19 January 1802 – 23 May 1874)

Biographical history

Van de Weyer served as Belgium’s Prime minister from July 1845 to March 1846. However, he lived for the majority of his life in London (17 Fitzroy Square, 50 Portland Place) and Windsor (New Lodge), and held the office of Belgian Minister at the Court of St. James’s under Queen Victoria, an ambassadorial role. Van de Weyer was close friends with Lord Palmerston. In addition to being a member of the Roxburghe Club, Van de Weyer was a founder member of the Philobiblon Society, the Vice President of the London Library, a Member of the Société des Bibliophiles de Belgique and the Head of the Royal Library of Brussels.
Pierre Henri Laurent said of Van de Weyer: 'His manners, taste, and savoir-faire brought him into the vital center of the intellectual, diplomatic, and financial communities. His home became the meeting place of writers, artists, and scientists’.

Archival history

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Autograph letter in French, signed, probably to Jean Sylvain Van de Weyer.

Transcription:
'Mon cher collègue,
Je vous envoie "Monsieur de Talleyrand", c'est à dire, sa vie. Je vous envoie aussi le portrait dont il a été question hier soir. Je ne sais pas s'il est ressemblant mais je sais très bien que l'original n'eut la fatuité de le faire litographier.
[bien à vous?]
Dimanche matin
Vous trouverez vous ce pli, un très joli échantillon de la belle écriture du Seigneur M. Je serais charmé, si je pouvais vous faire le cadeau de ce militaire secrétaire.'

The reference to "Monsieur de Talleyrand" might be a general allusion to a crafty diplomatic, rather than de Talleyrand personally.

The line before the signature might be a short version of "bien à vous", which might indicate a slightly informal tone.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

  • French

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

18.3 cm x 11.4 cm

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Note

Dated "Dimanche matin" but no month or year given.

Alternative identifier(s)

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Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • French

Script(s)

Sources

Archivist's note

Transcription:
Mon cher collègue,
Je vous envoie "Monsieur de Talleyrand", c'est à dire, sa vie. Je vous envoie aussi le portrait dont il a été question hier soir. Je ne sais pas s'il est ressemblant mais je sais très bien que l'original n'eut la fatuité de le faire litographier.
[bien à vous?]
Dimanche matin
Vous trouverez vous ce pli, un très joli échantillon de la belle écriture du Seigneur M. Je serais charmé, si je pouvais vous faire le cadeau de ce militaire secrétaire.

Reference to "Monsieur de Talleyrand" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Maurice_de_Talleyrand-P%C3%A9rigord) might be alluding to a crafty diplomatic.

The line before the signature might be a short version of "bien à vous", which might indicate a slightly informal tone.

Accession area