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Auction: 16043 - Autographs, Historical Documents, Ephemera and Postal History
Lot: 127

(x) Documents
Italy
The Pretender of the Duke of Mantua
1866-79 a group of letters from the Prince and Princess of Gonzaga when they were living in London and sent to professor Pasquale Greco of Lecce, with two letters signed by Alessandro and the others by the Princess; all seen to be with the original envelopes (stamps removed) with most sent from 9 Lower Seymour Street, Portman Square, or 9 Park Place, Clarence Gate, Regent's Park, London. (32 letters)

Gonzaga, an ancient Italian family which ruled over Mantua from 1328 to 1707. Its founder was Ludovico I., and his successors branched off into several lines, prominent among which were those of the dukes of Nevers and of Guastalla.


A pretender to the dominion over Mantua appeared in 1841, in a person styling himself Alessandro di Gonzaga, Prince Castiglione. He was a soldier of fortune, born in Dresden in 1799, and is described by some authorities as a Pole of the name of Murzynowski, and by others as a son of a Russian officer of Italian origin, and again as a son or brother of a French officer named Gonzague; and he was successively engaged in the French, Russian, and Spanish armies, and in the Polish revolution of 1830-31. In the latter part of his life he was arrested in Paris for selling decorations, and on being released after two years by Louis Napoleon, he went to London and died in 1869. He published Odes patriotiques, and several pamphlets and novels.

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Estimate
£300 to £400