MARIE ANTOINETTE SPENDS MONEY ON HER LAVISH LIFESTYLE
Rare Manuscript document, in French, signed “Payez, Marie Antoinette,” one page, 9.5 x 14.25, October 1, 1785. Document issued at Versailles, addressed to the treasurer Marc-Antoine-Francois-Marie Randon de la Tour, in which Marie Antoinette issues a pay order for reimbursement. Boldly signed in the lower left by Marie Antoinette to approve the payment; the document also bears Marie Antoinette’s secretarial proxy signature to the right side. Marie Antoinette’s expenditures to maintain her flamboyant lifestyle and lavish palace were enormous, and during this time she was growing increasingly unpopular. In 1785 her public image was tarnished beyond repair with the ‘Diamond Necklace Affair,’ when she was implicated in a fraudulent scheme to purchase an expensive necklace. A wonderful example boasting the bold, crisp signature of the infamous queen.