Jean-Baptiste Bradel (c. 1750-?) Charlotte-Geneviève [...] d'Éon de Beaumont, chevalier de l'ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis... (portrait as a man). Etching and burin after a life drawing of 1779. 235x365mm. A very fine proof on laid paper, trimmed to the plate and complete with the tablet. A little foxing at the head. Ex-coll. A. Hubert (Lugt 130). Joint: Charlotte-Geneviève [...] d'Éon de Beaumont, chevalier de l'ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis... (portrait as a woman). Etching and burin. 220x325mm. Very fine proof on laid paper, trimmed at the plate cut and above the tablet bearing the inscription "À la mémoire des Héroïnes Françoises...", the privilege and the address. Same collection. Ens. 2 p. Le Chevalier d'Éon (1728-1810) was an 18th-century French spy, diplomat and soldier, famous for his ambiguous dress and fluid style. Born Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont, he secretly served King Louis XV as a spy, notably in Russia and England, where he sometimes passed himself off as a man, sometimes as a woman, depending on the needs of his missions. After an eventful diplomatic career, he spent the last decades of his life in England dressed as a woman, claiming to be biologically female and demanding to be recognized as such. An autopsy on his body proved that he had male attributes. His story, marked by duels, political intrigue and a complex gender identity, makes him a fascinating historical figure, often regarded as one of the first known transgender personalities in the West.