Alexis de TOCQUEVILLE - Set of three signed autograph letters.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805.1859)

Set of three autograph letters signed to his friend Jules Taschereau.

Four pages in-8° in total.

Tocqueville, September 27, 1837 , Paris, August 17, 1842, Without place or date [1844?]

“You understand that there is nothing more honorable and therefore more desirable than representing the city of Paris in the Chamber. »

For his entry into politics, the future deputy for Manche accepts the proposal to be the candidate for the 10th ^{arrondissement} of Paris

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I. “ Tocqueville this September 27, 1837

I have just received, my dear friend, the letter that you have just written to me, and in which you inform me of the benevolent intentions of some voters of some voters of the 10th ^{arrondissement} . You feel that there cannot be two ways to answer it. You understand that there is nothing more honorable and therefore more desirable than to represent in the Chamber the city of Paris which is like the head and heart of the entire Kingdom. I would also like to add that among the different districts of Paris, there is not a single one for which I was happier to gather independent votes than the tenth. This district contains an entire intellectual and literary population whose sympathies I share and on whose behalf I would be proud to speak . So if it happens that some voters in our district are still thinking of me, please, I beg you, assure them that I will always accept, as a great honor, the candidacy that they are willing to offer me and that , whatever the result of the attempt, I will never cease to feel a deep gratitude for those who made it. I won't tell you more today, my dear friend, time is running out. Soon I will write to you again to respond to the rest of your letter. A thousand friendships. Alexis de Tocqueville . »

The project fizzled out and it was in the constituency of Valognes (Manche) that Tocqueville ran in the elections of November 4, 1837 where he was defeated by the outgoing deputy, Jules-Polydore Le Marois. Thanks to early elections that followed, Alexis de Tocqueville was finally elected to the Chamber on March 2, 1839: he was registered among the Independents. Re-elected four times, he served continuously until the coup d'état of December 2, 1851. He remained opposed to the Second Empire until his death.

Two years before this letter, Tocqueville had published the first two volumes of his master book: Democracy in America (the last two appeared in 1840). This publishing success assured him a prominent place.

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II. Paris, August 17, 1842

“ Sir, I have just received the letter by which you announce to me that HRH Madam the Duchess of Orléans is willing to continue for this year in the name of the Count of Paris the prize that the Duke of Orléans granted to the city from Cherbourg. Please, please, place at the feet of His Royal Highness with the expression of my gratitude the tribute of my deep respect and my entire devotion. Accept, Sir, the expression of my very distinguished consideration. Alexis de Tocqueville Deputy for Manche. »

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III. Without place or date [1844?]

“ My dear Taschereau, I wrote you a letter yesterday which is probably reaching you at this moment. In this letter I apologized for not having responded to you yet, explaining that before doing so I had to ensure that no portrait of Briqueville existed in Paris. I only became certain of this yesterday and I shared it with you in my letter. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you anything else this morning. The Briqueville family has asked me, moreover, to express its sincere gratitude to you. A thousand regards, Alexis de Tocqueville. This Tuesday morning. »

Friend of Tocqueville who was a relative by marriage, deputy of Cherbourg, Count de Bricqueville was a brilliant cavalry colonel in the Napoleonic army. Elected in 1827, a fervent Bonapartist, he was a determined opponent of the Bourbons and the July Monarchy. Died in Paris on March 19, 1844, he was buried in Cherbourg: an independent committee organized a subscription to erect a monument in his memory. The bust project chosen was that submitted by David d'Angers. It was only inaugurated in May 1850. The search for a “portrait of Bricqueville” mentioned by Tocqueville is undoubtedly linked to this monument project.