Copy of letter by Chevalier d'Éon

Copy of a letter to Monsieur De La Joue, Chatelet prosecutor, Paris, informing him that he will be receiving a cask of 1779 vintage white wine, harvested in d'Éon's home town of Tonnerre, Burgundy. This will be delivered in 5 days time by someone named Barry. D'Éon is full of praise for the wine.

25 January 1780

1 File

Provenance details not known.

Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont (5 October 1728 – 21 May 1810), usually known as the Chevalier d'Éon, was a French diplomat and spy. Until 1777 d'Éon lived mainly as a man, afterwards dressing in female clothes and identifying as a woman. The question of d'Éon's true gender was widely debated, but was not resolved until a postmortem medical examination was conducted. This found that d'Éon had "male organs in every respect perfectly formed", but also feminine characteristics.