‎PETIT Adelbert de - Empress Maria Theresia of Habsburg :‎
‎Patent of Nobility of Captain-Lieutenant Adelbert de Petit. Dated 2nd July 1774, Wien (Vienna) , with authentic signature of empress Maria-Theresia of Austria.‎

‎ (Vienna, 1774), original vellum document, German text, 15 pp + 1 pp with the registration on the heraldry roll in Brussels and Mechelen , dated 1775. 36 x 31 cm, with a full page watercolored design of the coat of arms, heightened with gold, first three page printed with an engraved border ( signed ''Fransciscus Mayer fecit 1757''), in the text the begin sentences are calligraphed. Bound in a red damask binding with yellow and black silk ties. The seal kept in a wooden turned box (diameter ca. 15 cm), the complete document is kept in the original purpose made metal box. Adelbert Petit was a captain-lieutenant in the 3rd Field-artillary regiment under command of Colonel Bärenkopp, stationed in Mechelen (Flanders). Added are 10 original letters and documents send and received by Le Petit which illustrate the process of acquiring his Patent of Nobility and the price he had to pay for it (admistrative costs, bookbinder's invoice, calligrapher etc.). Le Petit had at least one son (Pierre, born in Mechelen 1769), this son, according to a letter added was also serving in the Austrian army and stationed in Venice in 1834. Due to the fact that the document is kept in this metal box it is beautifully preserved. In our opinion a collection of the original patent of nobility with the added letters illustrating the acquisition process is not only rare but also very interesting.‎

Reference : 10370

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