Autograph Note Signed 'Francois' (1708-1765, Duke of Lorraine, 1729-1737, husband, 1736, of Maria Theresia of Austria, from 1737 Grand Duke of Tuscany and from 1745 Holy Roman Emperor)

in his somewhat phonetic French, with transcription and translation, to an unnamed minister or secretary, saying "I want you to come and see me as soon as possible", 1 side folio, no place, no date, circa (Transcription) je souet que vous vous randie dabore le plus tos posible chemoy vouslan vous porte francois. (Translation) I want you to come and see me as soon as possible. Wishing you well [?]. Francis. Lorraine, a fief of the German Empire, had currently strong links with Austria. Francis's father had sent him to Vienna in August 1723 as prospective husband for Maria Theresia, then 6 yesrs old, for training and employment in affairs of state. From the handwriting we date the letter to the period when the Duke was attempting to hold on to Lorraine in the War of the Polish Succession (1733-1735, peace treaty 1738). Nominally a civil war, it was largely fought outside Poland. Other powers joined in in their own interests. France seized Lorraine, which she had long coveted, to prevent further Austrian influence on her borders. At the peace it was granted for life to the loser, Stanislas I Leszczynski, father-in-law of Louis XV. In compensation, Francis Stephen was granted Tuscany. France finally got Lorraine in 1766. For his handwriting at this period, see, for example, BL Add MS 32684 f. 10, Vienna, 20th February 1737. His idiosyncratic spelling, such as never writing the 'z' in 'vous vous rendiez' (etc), lasted all his life. Here he begins with 'je souet' ('je souhaite').…