Louis XV

LOUIS XV OF FRANCE (1710–1774)

Royal Military Commission Signed “Louis” with Contemporary Engraved Portrait of the Young King
Paris, April 1719

An exceptionally evocative pairing from the dawn of Louis XV’s reign: an original royal military commission signed by King Louis XV in 1719, accompanied by a contemporary engraved portrait depicting the monarch as a child shortly after his accession to the French throne.

The handwritten document, issued in Paris and signed simply “Louis,” dates to April 1719, during the Regency period that followed the death of Louis XIV. At the time, Louis XV was only nine years old and governed under the supervision of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans. Despite his youth, official acts of state continued to be issued in the king’s name, making documents from this formative period among the earliest surviving records of his reign.

Written in elegant eighteenth-century French script, the document concerns a military appointment in the province of Brittany. A translation of the text reveals that the king formally confirms the appointment of an officer to command a militia company raised in Brittany and directs local authorities to recognize him in that capacity, granting him the rights, honors, privileges, and authority attached to the position.

In part, the document reads:

“Since Sieur de Rolloy has chosen Sieur Louis d’Orléans-Regan to command a company of militia battalion troops that I have ordered to be raised in my province of Brittany, I have written this letter so that you may recognize and receive him in the capacity of captain of said company… and that he enjoy the rights, honors, privileges, and prerogatives attached thereto.”

The commission offers a fascinating glimpse into the administration of royal France during the years immediately following the War of the Spanish Succession, when provincial militia forces played an important role in maintaining order and defending the kingdom. Documents of this nature formed the practical machinery through which the French monarchy governed one of Europe’s largest and most powerful states.

Accompanying the commission is a finely executed copperplate engraving depicting the youthful Louis XV seated in royal robes beside the Crown of France. The Latin inscription identifies him as:

“Ludovicus XV, King of France and Navarre, born 15 February 1710.”

The engraving is attributed to Eggelhoff and appears to have originated from an early eighteenth-century historical or genealogical volume. Particularly compelling is the fact that the portrait dates from virtually the same period as the signed commission itself, presenting Louis XV as he would have appeared at the very time the document was issued.

Louis XV inherited the throne upon the death of his great-grandfather, Louis XIV, the famed “Sun King.” His reign would eventually span nearly six decades, making him one of the longest-reigning monarchs in European history. Although later overshadowed by the events leading to the French Revolution, Louis XV presided over an era marked by territorial expansion, Enlightenment thought, scientific advancement, and the continuing evolution of France as a dominant European power.

Authentic royal documents signed by French monarchs remain highly desirable among collectors of European history, royal memorabilia, and early manuscript material. The combination of an original 1719 military commission bearing the king’s signature together with a contemporary engraved portrait creates an unusually attractive and historically cohesive ensemble, preserving a tangible connection to the early years of one of France’s most significant monarchs.

A remarkable relic of Bourbon France, combining royal authority, military history, and period portraiture in a single collection.