1795 HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT LETTER RELATING TO THE IMPRISONMENT AND RELEASE OF A 68 YEAR OLD MAN FROM THE INFAMOUS AND NOTORIOUS PRISON AND LUNATIC ASYLUM 'THE BICETRE'

On offer is a superb, unique circa 1795, Year 4 of the Revolution, manuscript letter relating to the liberation from prison of a 68 year old man. [A fairly extraordinary age for a man in prison conditions of the era.] The prison was the famous Bicetre and this is a detailed account of the affair. The man had a fake passport and had been arrested by soldiers. This is all the more an exceptional document given the 150+ year history of the Bicetre which in its ay was an orphanage, military hospital and lunatic asylum. The Bicêtre is most famous as the Asylum de Bicêtre where in 1793 Superintendent Philippe Pinel is credited as being the first to introduce humane methods into the treatment of the mentally ill and this letter and its content may well be a rare exhibit of those new policies. Signed Aubin and Jourdaire. 2pp, 7-3/4 x 12". VG.; French; Folio - over 12" - 15" tall; LUNACY, PRISON REFORM, FRANCE, FRENCH REVOLUTION, PRISON, PENAL SYSTEM, BICETRE, PINEL, HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, DIARY, JOURNAL, LOG, KEEPSAKE, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, WRITERS, DIARIES, JOURNALS, LOGS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, PERSONAL HISTORY, AMERICANA, Als, antiquité, contrat, vélin, document, manuscrit, papier Antike, Brief, Pergament, Dokument, Manuskript, Papier oggetto d'antiquariato, atto, velina, documento, manoscritto, carta antigüedad, hecho, vitela, documento, manuscrito, papel.