Rare love letters from a La Pérouse expedition scientist found hidden in a book of engravings
Love letters written by Jean-André Mongez, a scientist who sailed with the French La Pérouse expedition, have been found hidden in a book of engravings, the Guardian reported. The letters were addressed to Louise Victoria Le Cloustier, the married daughter of a minor noble family from Rouen in Normandy. They are due to be sold at auction next month.
The letters came to light while the book was being examined in preparation for the sale. Ludovic Miran, a book and manuscript expert for the auctioneers, told the Guardian that the personal letters are extremely rare and throw new light on the expedition.
Mongez was a scientist, the director of a science review and a church canon. He accompanied the expedition, and he died in 1788, during the voyage's final phase.
The expedition was the work of Louis XVI, who in 1785 chose Jean-François de Galaup, count of La Pérouse, to lead a voyage of discovery around the world. According to the Château de Versailles, the king made the appointment at the urging of his Minister for Maritime Affairs, the Marshal of Castries.
The two ships, La Boussole and L'Astrolabe, left Brest on 1 August 1785 with 225 crew, officers and scientists aboard. After leaving Botany Bay, in what is now Australia, in March 1788, both vessels disappeared. They are believed to have foundered on coral reefs at Vanikoro, east of the Solomon Islands. The wrecks were not formally identified until 2005.
The king's fate is also tied to the expedition's uncertainty. Louis XVI is reported to have asked "Is there news of Monsieur de la Pérouse?" before his execution by guillotine on 21 January 1793.
