Hyacinthe Bougainville (1781-1846) was a French naval officer, son of the famous French Admiral and explorer Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (1729-1811) who had circumnavigated the world in 1766-1779. Hyacinthe sailed around the world from 1824-1826 on board of the Thétis and the Espérance, sent by the Minister of the Navy and the Colonies, the Duc de Clermont-Tonnerre. It was virtually a diplomatic mission to Réunion, Cochin-China, Pondicherry in the Indian Ocean, Manila and Macao. Hyacinthe returned across the Pacific and after anchoring at Port Jackson for three months he returned to France via Rio de Janeiro. Hyacinthe de Bougainville became Rear-Admiral in 1838.
Ad 1: Autograph letter signed by Hyacinthe de Bougainville to Gaspar, baron Gourgaud. Hyacinthe complained that he had heard nothing from him since their last "réunion gastronomique" 16 days earlier.
Ad 2: Autograph letter signed by Hyacinthe de Bougainville to Madame Delpeche. She was the widow of François Delpeche, an engraver who made a portrait of Hyacinthe's father Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1837.
Ad 3: Autograph letter signed by Hyacinthe de Bougainville to a "Cher ami". He wrote that he had been presented by the Minister, with some others that he didn't know, to the King as an option for being made a c[ontre] admiral (= Rear Admiral). "I am at the head of the list and if I stick to my titles I will be without worry ...". He invokes his deeds since 1830 and says that he wants to retire "if I am not done justice; the name I bear does not allow me to serve any longer as a stepping stone for others". Three days before, he was told that "le travail" was presented to the King, and indeed his appointment followed the same year.
Ad 4: Autograph letter signed by Hyacinthe de Bougainville to a "Cher ami" and his best "comrade". De Bougainville asks him a favour regarding the son-in-law of his "second" on the Thétis during his voyage around the globe (in 1824-1826).
All four letters with faint folding lines and pencil annotations; ads 2 and 4 with glue residue on the last leaf, ad 2 with the remnants of a seal and a slight defect to the top corner of the last leaf, where the letter was sealed and reopened. Overall in very good condition. Howgego, Encyclopaedia of Exploration, 1800 to 1850 (vol 2), B50.