Written in French in a neat early 19th-century cursive hand. With 3 blind-stamped paper wax seals, mounted on the vellum with red wax, two with yellow and brown cloth ties. With a large coat-of-arms on the title-page and 27 smaller coat-of-arms in the genealogical tree (some being the Faesch family coat-of-arms together with the coat-of-arms of the families related by marriages, sometimes the coat-of-arms next to the Faesch coat-of-arms left blank), all hand-coloured with gouache. The genealogical tree is interconnected by green branches, painted with gouache. Sewn with yellow and brown threads, as a single quire of 4 in vellum wrappers.
Early 19th-century manuscript genealogical tree of the Faesch family, a prominent Swiss, French, Belgian, Corsican and Italian noble family, originating in Basel. The tree starts in the early 15th century with Jean-Rodolphe Faesch, born 1491, who was the grandson of Nicolas Faesch, who was born in 1438. It ends with Marie Valerie Faesch, born in 1804. The genealogical tree not only lists the members of this important family, but also shows besides the family coat-of-arms the coat-of-arms (as far as known) of the families that are related to the Faesch family by marriage. Many members of the Faesch family were important jurists, bankers or military officers, as is sometimes also noted in the tree. The manuscript is dated 1806 and made in Vienna, Austria and it is signed by Charles-Jean Beydaels de Zittaert (1747–1811) and Fran.ois-Joseph de Leenheer. Beydaels de Zittaert was the first king of arms of the Austrian Netherlands, head of the Burgundian Circle and head of the Chambre H.raldique, who made genealogies on behalf of noble families in the Southern Netherlands. We know less about Francois-Joseph de Leenheer, but he also signs the present work and he wrote that he was archivist at chancery of court and state. The present genealogical tree is not only a beautiful and colourful document, but also seemes to be a quite official document, ordered by the Faesch family themselves. Wrappers and margins a little dust-soiled, outer edges a little curled, but overall in good condition.
Measurements: 38.5 cm x 30 cm
Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439352/datastre...
