[Marie Antoinette (1755–1793)] Beaugeard, Pierre Jean Baptiste. (1764-1832)
Letter Sending New Year's Greetings while under House Arrest, 1791
Manuscript document signed on behalf of the Queen

Manuscript document signed on behalf of the Queen (“Marie Antoinette") and countersigned, both signatures by her secretary Pierre Jean Baptiste Beaugeard, 1 page, folio, Paris, 31 January 1791, to her cousin, thanking him for his New Year greetings and assuring him of her affections. Dispatch slits, overall in very fine condition and with a scarce paper seal depicting Marie Antoinette’s coat of arms present to the lower left. Matted and framed with an engraved portrait "MARIE ANTOINETTE - JOSEPH. JEANNE (d'Autriche)...Gravé d'après un Dessin de Moreau)". Visible area of letter and portrait, each 8 x 12 inches (20.3 x 30.5), overall 21 x 16 inches (53.3 x 40.6). Unexamined out of frame, 2 inch tear to blank area visible, toning around the edges, else apparently fine, though would benefit from a fresh acid-free mat. 

A rare original document sent from Queen Marie Antoinette while under house arrest in the Tuileries Palace.  In 1793, Beaugeard was a conspirator in the failed plot to rescue King Louis XIV from execution.