Business card and text of Princess Isabel, Countess of Eu (1900s)

Exiled in France, Princess Isabel organizes concerts with young musicians.

• Princess Isabel 's business card, with a text in French written by her.
• France, no information on the date.
• 10 cm x 6 cm.
• Excellent condition.
• Unique piece.

I would be very grateful if you would keep the attached tickets for the concert I am organizing in favor of my beloved Young Musicians Project. If you are unable to keep them, I ask that you send them to me as soon as possible. If you would be so kind as to take them without being able to go to the concert, please be so kind as to hand them over so that my young charges can see a full room.

Talking to one of the collection's faithful collectors, passionate about music, Mário - who I would like to thank again here - I learned that Princess Isabel and Conde d'Eu have a long history with music, since the Second Reign. They always held receptions and dances with musicians at Palácio das Laranjeiras. Celebrities, such as the American Louis Moreau Gottschalk, the German Richard Wagner and the Brazilian Carlos Gomes, had the opportunity to meet the imperial family in Brazil or Europe. This practice and this taste of the couple continued, although in a different and reduced form, in France during their exile.

An interesting detail that was also told to me, the Princess played the piano, as highlighted by the Countess of Paris in her memoir:

“But of all the unusual characters who visited my grandmother, the one I liked most was M. White. This black man with thick, white hair, combed like General Dourakine, with thick tufts above his ears, was a violinist and accompanied the Countess d'Eu (Princess Isabel ) on the piano, or rather, it was the Countess d'Eu who accompanied M. . White on the piano… I think she was truly a virtuoso. He came, in any case, several times a month, and for hours one could hear music coming from the hall where no one had the right to enter. Only children, from time to time, were allowed to enter this sanctuary.”

I found this piece in France. At first glance, I liked this business card from Isabel - the first one I saw, it is very rare - and the extensive and delicate text in French written by the Princess, for an unidentified recipient. The content is also unique and exceptional - the music - because it allows us to learn about another aspect of the personality and tastes of this very cultured and capable Princess. It is also important to highlight the excellent condition of this piece, impeccable. All in all, a piece that I consider very special.