Bidspirit auction | HUMBOLDT ALEXANDER VON: (1769-1859) Humboldt

HUMBOLDT ALEXANDER VON: (1769-1859) Humboldt writes an informative letter while travelling with the King of Prussia - HUMBOLDT ALEXANDER VON: (1769-1859) German polymath, geographer, naturalist and explorer. A very fine A.L.S., A. Humboldt , two pages, 4to, Verona, 19th October 1822, to Achille Valenciennes (´aide naturaliste au Jardin du Roi à Paris ) , in French. The lengthy, informative letter was written while Humboldt was accompanying the King of Prussia to the Congress of Verona, and he commences by stating that he hopes he has not made a mistake in his calculations and that ´Cette lettre mon cher Valenciennes doit Vous trouver à Paris de retour d´un voyage dans lequel Vous aurez trouvé bien des objets dignes de Votre attention´ (Translation: ´This letter, my dear Valenciennes, should find you in Paris, returning from a trip during which you will have found many things worthy of your attention´ ), further reaffirming the feelings of friendship and affection he holds for his correspondent and their family, and continuing to write of his recent discoveries, a scientific collection he inspected in Geneva, and his experiences of travelling with the King, ´ J´ai prié Mr Kurth de Vous donner des nouvelles de mon voyage et des courses très intéressantes que j´ai pu faire dans les carrières de Candoglia et de Baveno au Lac maggiore, dans les Monts Eugané ceux au Sud de Padoue et dans la Vallée de Fassa au Tyrol où sont les granites bien certainement postérieurs au coleain (?) coquilles sur lesquels j´ai écrit une longue lettre à Mr Brochart. Je Vous supplie de lui dire en mon nom et celui de M. de Bach qu´il dépend entièrement de lui de publier ce que cette lettre renferme de scientifique. A Genève j´ai vu une collection d´oiseaux assez belle, on y a soigneusement évité d´avoir des oiseaux de Suisse. Il n´y a pas un poisson du lac de Genève, mais on se vante qu´on y aura un jour des collections de tous les lacs de la Suisse et de l´Italie. La nouvelle collection de poissons pétrifiés que s´est formé le Comte Gazola à Verone ne paroit pour le moins aussi belle que celle que Vous avez à Paris. Depuis les derniers 8 jours que j´ai rejoint mon Roi à Milan, je vis dans une agitation perpétuelle, ce que Vous avez vu à Aix la Chapelle ne vous en donne qu´une faible image. Le nombre d´objets à voir, la necessité de changer de costume 4-5 fois pas jour, les visites des cours et tant d´autres misères bien vaines rendent la vie très agitée. Ma santé a été constemment très bonne at le Roi par sa bienveillance pour moi, adoucit ce qu´il pourroit avoir quelquefois de sensible. Nous partons dans 4 jours pour Venise, on reviendra ici, on ira vers le 3 Nov. à Rome et à Naples pour être de retour ici à la fin de Décembre. A cette époque le Roi quittera l´Italie. L´on pense que les négociations ne seroient pas terminées, mais on croit généralement qu´elles seront très courtes et qu´il n´y aura pas plus de guerre à l´est qu´à l´ouest´ (Translation: ´ I have asked Mr Kurth to give you news of my trip and the very interesting excursions I was able to make to the quarries of Candoglia and Baveno on Lake Maggiore, to the Euganean Hills south of Padua and to the Fassa Valley in Tyrol, where there are granites that are certainly posterior to the coleain (?) shells about which I wrote a long letter to Mr Brochart. I beg you to tell him on my behalf and on behalf of Mr de Bach that it is entirely up to him to publish the scientific contents of this letter. In Geneva, I saw a rather fine collection of birds, which carefully avoided including any birds from Switzerland. There is not a single fish from Lake Geneva, but they boast that one day they will have collections from all the lakes of Switzerland and Italy. The new collection of petrified fish assembled by Count Gazola in Verona does not appear to be as beautiful as the one you have in Paris. Since I rejoined my King in Milan eight days ago, I have been living in a state of constant agitation, which what you saw in Aachen gives you only a faint impression of. The number of things to see, the need to change clothes four or five times a day, visits to the courts and so many other vain miseries make life very hectic. My health has been consistently very good and the King, in his kindness towards me, softens what might sometimes be a sensitive condition. We are leaving for Venice in four days, we will return here, and then we will go to Rome and Naples around 3 November, to be back here at the end of December. At that time, the King will leave Italy. It is thought that the negotiations will not be concluded, but it is generally believed that they will be very brief and that there will be no more war in the east than in the west´ ). In concluding Humboldt adds that he hopes to be with his correspondent in January, and requests ´ Donnez moi de vos nouvelles ici (toujours adresse à Vérone chez S.M. le Roi de Prusse)´ (Translation: ´ send me news here (always addressed to Verona,