Autographs
July 14, 1790 First Anniversary “Bastille Day” Broadside Issued by the Mayor of Paris and Signed In Print “La Fayette, Commandant-General”
(GENERAL MARQUIS DE LA FAYETTE) (1757 - 1834). Full French name; Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Marquis de Lafayette.
July 14, 1790-Dated, Partially-printed Broadside Document in French, from the French “Confederation Nationale.”, measuring 7” x 10” at Paris, Very Fine. This Document was issued by the Mayor of Paris and Signed in print, “La Fayette, Commandant-General.” It is an acknowledgment of the Oath to the new French Government on the First Anniversary of “Bastille Day.” The original rich deep red wax Official Seal is fully intact and distinct in its clarity at lower right. Trivial .5” centerfold edge split at top. Printed in deep black typeset text, headed “CONFEDERATION - NATIONALE.” in bold larger print with historic vignette below, upon heavy period laid paper. Previously framed such that the very outer margins were protected with the print area even in light tone. A very rough translation of this French Broadside Document reads, in part:

“We, Mayor of the City of Paris, Commander-General of the National Guard, Paris, President & Commissioners of the Commune to the Covenant-Federatis, certifies that M.____ attended the Federation, with quality of Deputy in department of ____ District of ____ & that during his stay in our walls, we gave the testimony of the purest Patriotism & the Brotherhood most entire, in witness whereof we have issued him the present Certificate, which we affix the seal of the Federation.”

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Marquis de Lafayette (French pronunciation:; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), in the U.S. often known simply as Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer who was a General in the American Revolutionary War and a close friend of George Washington. Lafayette was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. An excellent candidate to frame for display. This first we have seen and offered. Very rare and historically important on many, many levels!


General La Fayette joined French noblemen in the revolution of 1789. He presented a draft for a Declaration of Rights, which was composed with the help of Thomas Jefferson and modeled after the Declaration of Independence. On the day after the storming of the Bastille, July 14, 1789, he was made Commander-in-Chief of the new Paris Militia.

“La Fayette was one of the most popular and powerful men in France from 1789-1791. On the first anniversary of the capture of the Bastille, L Fayette administered an oath of loyalty.” General L Fayette favored the abolishment of titles, reform of the criminal procedure, trial by jury, religious toleration, and political rights for free blacks.