James Fenimore Cooper letter to Armand Carrel

Content Description

This addition to MSS 6245, James Fenimore Cooper papers, contains a one-leaf, signed autograph letter from Cooper to Armand Carrel (1800–1836), editor of the Paris daily newspaper, Le National. The letter requests copies of magazine issues containing his letters to the paper regarding the then-ongoing Finance Controversy of 1831–1832 and a duplicate of the issue containing his fourth letter. The letters he requests concern Cooper’s views on the Finance Controversy, a debate regarding the cost of government, during which he publicly sided with and defended the Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette argued against the claims of Sebastien Louis Saulnier, a journalist at the Revue Britannique, that a limited monarchical government was more financially efficient than a republic. Cooper had published a "Letter to General Lafayette" in December 1831 and subsequently contributed a series of letters to Le National between February 24 and March 7, 1832. These are the letters Copper was referring to in his letter. Cooper, who was residing in Paris at the time, stated his intention to “send the whole controversy to America” and requested the magazines for the purpose of publishing a pamphlet.

Acquisition Type

Purchase

Provenance

Purchased from Gerald W. Cloud Rare Books, 6 February 2026.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

No