Two Als from Paul Cambon to the salonnière Mme. Edmond Archdeacon (née Anne-Françoise de Rocquigny du Faye).

Paris : 146, boulevard Haussman, circva 1920. Carte de visite, and letter all signed with handwritten messages. ...M. Paul Cambon was born on Jan. 20, 1843, and is the elder brother of the equally famed Jules Martin Cambon, French Ambassador to Germany (1907-14). He entered the public service as private secretary to Jules Ferry in the Prefecture of the Seine and during the next 10 years he was engaged in administrative work as the Secretary of the Prefecture and then as Prefect, successively, of the Departments of the Aube, Doubs and Nord. After that he joined the Corps Diplomatique. He became French Minister Plenipotentiary to Tunis; Ambassador to Madrid, Constantinople and, in 1898, Ambassador to London, where he lived during the reigns of Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V. His task at London was not simple. The Fashoda incident* was a sore point between France and Britain; but this pearl of ambassadors finally managed to smooth things over, and if not too well, he at least avoided a rupture of peaceful relations. . He was now free to start the greatest work of his life—the formation of the Entente Cordiale, which became a fait accompli in 1904. The signing of this convention was to a large extent his work, although, until better evidence is produced, the principal honor belongs to King Edward. None the less the role played by M. Cambon was of vital importance and just how much influence he exerted upon King Edward, with whom he was on intimate terms, is not definitely known. The other landmark in his ambassadorial career was in 1914, when he frustrated every attempt on the part of Germany to separate Britain from her allies—France and Russia. When the news came that the Duchy of Luxembourg had been invaded, Paul Cambon called upon the then Foreign Minister, Sir Edward Grey, with the Luxembourg Treaty (guarantee by the five great Powers of Luxembourg's territorial integrity) and asked him what he intended to do about it. Sir Edward did not reply and M. Cambon remarked: "I do not know whether we shall not have to strike the word 'honor' out of the English vocabulary." He knew that the King, Sir Edward, Premier Asquith and some other statesmen were of his opinion and that they wanted to intervene. Then came the violation of Belgian neutrality before anything could be decided about Luxembourg. There was no longer any doubt, Britain would go to war; M. Cambon had scored another diplomatic victory. In 1920 at the time of his resignation, he said : "Aug. 1, 2, 3, 1914, were the only days of real difficulty in all the years I have spent in London.".....The recipient of the letters is:Mme. Edmond Archdeacon (1872-1960),née Anne-Françoise de Rocquigny du Faye) was the widow of Edmond Archdeacon (1864-1906.)...She held salons and many of the letters in this collection have to do with these social events often at her salon at no. 3 rue de Tilsitt , Paris......Her late husband (died in 1906): Edmond, Archdeacon, Député de la Seine et homme d’affaires français, né à Paris le 24 décembre 1864, décédé à Paris le 20 février 1906...Edmond Archdeacon était le fils d’un riche agent de change parisien, d’origine irlandaise et d’opinions légitimistes. Grâce à la fortune héritée de son père et à ses vastes propriétés dans l’Yonne, il put vivre plus en rentier millionnaire qu’en homme d’affaires, habiter sur les Champs Elysées l’hôtel fastueux du duc de Morny et surtout faire de la politique à fonds perdus, en finançant avec une rare générosité les mouvements qui lui plaisaient, c’est-à-dire résolument hostiles à la IIIe République......Mme. Edmond Archdeacon (née Anne-Françoise de Rocquigny du Faye).: Selon André Becq de Fouquières, Anne-Françoise de Rocquigny du Fayel, par son mariage Mme Edmond Archdeacon, quitta son hôtel du 15, avenue des Champs-Élysées pour venir résider à no. 3 rue de Tilsitt après la mort de son mari, survenue en 1906. ....Fondatrice de la “Maison de Repos du Clos Savoyard.” ...Née le 2 novembre 1872 à Boulogne-sur-Mer.....Décédée le 24 octobre 1960 à Veyrier-du-Lac, à l'âge de 87 ans. Sépulture à ParisParents:Robert de Rocquigny du Fayel (1845 - 1929), maire de Neufchâtel;; Marie Connelly (1851 - 1916)...Mariée le 20 novembre 1890 à Paris, avec Edmond Archdeacon (1864 - 1906), député de la Seine,: Enfants: Héloïse (1894 - ) Louise (1898 - ).... Expertise by: Alain NICOLAS & Pierre GHENO, Experts près la Cour d’Appel de Paris