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542 - NEWFOUNDLAND. 2 letters from the author, Caen 1830 and Havre…
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Estimate €400 - €500
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Description
NEWFOUNDLAND. 2 letters from the author, Caen 1830 and Havre de Carouge 1833; 1 and 2 pages, in-4 format, with postal marks on the envelopes. On the cod fishery in Newfoundland. Caen, 28 February 1830. Letter from the CAPTAIN, a ‘medical student’, to Mr Magonné [Mengnonnet?], shipowner in Granville, requesting to serve as a medical officer on one of the shipowner’s vessels bound for Newfoundland. Havre de Carouge [Newfoundland], 3 August 1833. Lieutenant LE BRETON, to Sebert the Elder, merchant in Saint-Brieuc. ‘I have taken the opportunity of the departure of the brig L’Espiègle to inform you of our meagre success in fishing so far; we have between 900 and 1,000 quintals of cod, four barrels of cod liver oil and about seven barrels in the hold’… On his arrival at the coast, the weather was bad, and it got worse. “On 31 July we were hit by a very violent gale […] This storm claimed many victims; since then I have had no news of François Lequyer, with whom Ruen and Troquer—all three from the parish of Pordic—are travelling; four boats from Le Havre are still missing. This morning six were still missing, which still gives me hope […] Since the 27th of last month I have received no news from Bel-Isle; at that time the Paix had around 500 quintals of cod and was catching between 50 and 70 quintals of cod a day. Boutitou [Newfoundland] was doing slightly better than us at the same time. All the northern ports are doing very poorly; the Canary Islands are having a poor season. […] The further south we go, the better the fishing. If the bad weather would only leave us, I think that, like last year, we would be catching cod with the seine right up until the 20th of next month, provided, that is, the fish come close enough to the coast; for our very strict regulations on nets allow us little depth, especially when the weather is as bad as it has been this year, which causes the fish to stay in deep water. As the fishing season has started so late, combined with the rough seas which prevent us from cleaning the cod, we find ourselves unable to be the first to land a catch with the Concorde. Today our seine nets have caught around 60 qaux of cod. The strong north-westerly wind has prevented the boats from returning from the islands”…
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part II
Auction location
Auction time 10/14/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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