Lot n° 294
Estimation :
800 - 1000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 1 024EUR
Charles MOUCHEZ (1867-1911) son of the admiral,... - Lot 294 - Ader
Charles MOUCHEZ (1867-1911) son of the admiral, naval officer, professor at the Naval School. Autograph manuscript signed, [Voyage à bord de l'Iphigénie], 1887-1888; 84 pages in-4
Account of a navigation to the Canaries, Dakar and the Cape Verde Islands.
Relation of a cruise carried out on board the Iphigénie between October 6, 1887 (embarkation in Brest) and February 17, 1888 (arrival in Barcelona). It is illustrated with 6 drawings in the text: Map of Dakar and Goree (f. 14), Hammock (f. 16), Point of Europe in Gibraltar (f. 19), Ridge at 415 m (id.), General view of Gibraltar (id.), Castle San Carlos, in Majorca (f. 20), and an out-of-text map showing the itinerary from Dakar to La Praya, drawn in ink on tracing paper (f. flying).
This account, written day by day, was intended for his family: the first four pages, sent to his mother, contain details of the preparations for boarding the training ship, which set sail on October 10, 1887. The Iphigénie arrived in Vigo (Spain) on the 14th and stayed there until the 18th, passing near the Strait of Gibraltar on the 20th and anchoring in Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) from the 25th to the 27th. Mouchez visited the city and gave a description of it. Then he recounts the celebration of the passage of the Tropic, which took place on October 31 and November 1. The ship anchored off Dakar on November 8: the crew could not go ashore because of a case of smallpox and all supplies were impossible. On the 15th, the Iphigénie left for La Praya (Cape Verde Islands), where she anchored on the 18th. Mouchez went ashore three times and visited a sugar cane plantation. On November 24, the ship set sail and arrived in Dakar on December 2. The cadet visited the black village and paid a visit to the king of Dakar, then bought a dagger and stuffed birds before carrying out gunnery exercises. The departure took place on December 8; on the 11th, the Iphigénie anchored near Gorée, then at Anse Bernard, near Dakar, but remained in quarantine. On the 18th, the ship left for La Praya. Once the supplies were completed, it resumed its journey on the 23rd. It anchored again in Gorée on December 29, then in La Praya from January 3 to 11, 1888. Mouchez carried out astronomical observations and exercises on land or on board the ship; he also visited Trinité and the Ile aux Cailles. Then the Iphigénie began its return voyage: passing near Tenerife on January 20, anchoring in Gibraltar from February 5 to 7 (with a description of the city), then in Majorca (Balearic Islands) from the 10th to the 12th, and in Minorca, in Port-Mahon, from the 13th to the 15th; until the arrival in Barcelona, on February 17, 1888.
In this report, life on board is described at length, as well as the navigation conditions. Mouchez specifies that the work required of the cadets left them little time to spare, and that their only leisure activities were the visits to the shore that they took in turn. "Mr. Testot-Ferry, the photographic officer, gave us a short lecture and then took a photograph of our station. He will have all the pictures reproduced in Toulon by a photographer and we will be able to buy some... The sensitive paper spoils quickly and the operation would take too much time on board... ". (October 23, 1887)... Etc.
Two handwritten documents are attached (dates of departure of correspondence from Paris; active service number) and an autographed document (baptismal certificate of the passage of the Line for the midshipman of 2nd class Mouchez).
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue