Beschreibung:

FRANZ II (1768-1835), Emperor of Austria . Illuminated manuscript document signed ("Franciscus"), grant of arms and patent of nobility, Vienna, 29 September 1797. 8 pages, 347 x 271 mm. (13¾ x 11 in.), WRITTEN ON FINE PARCHMENT, original velvet binding, in Latin, finely decorated calligraphic text in burnished gold, facing page FINELY ILLUMINATED IN GOLD AND COLORS: coat of arms (a shield featuring a laurel-clad deity holding a flowering branch, with blue and white foliate decorations on a background of sky, trees and checkerboard floor, with burgundy draped proscenium with multiple shield devices), very fine , in a fine giltwood frame . SEAL: The royal seal of Francis II in orange wax ( diameter 142 mm. (5½ in.) , obverse showing a detailed double crowned armorial device on a two headed eagle, holding orb, cross and a sword in its claws, enclosed by multiple armorial devices and Latin legend), in a two-part protective brass case, pendant on a braided cord, very fine. AN ILLUMINATED PATENT OF NOBILITY, WITH FINE SEAL. Francis II grants a patent of nobility to Ignatius Buday, Captain of the Wurms Regiment of Cavalry, in return for his 15 years' service in wars against the Turks and the French, and to his father Gabriel for his services to the town of Pesth, and to other members of their family. Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor (a title given up in 1806), and the first Emperor of Austria. The early years of his reign were oppressed by the military genius of Napoleon, to whom he was compelled to marry his daughter, Marie-Louise, in 1810; ultimately Austria was amply compensated for its losses at the Treaty of Vienna after Napoleon's fall.