Letters patent for the granting of nobility and coat of arms to "Alexander Franz Joseph Massart von Montenville".

Folio (36 x 30 cm): 9 ff., on vellum, in German, expertly calligraphed.

Contemp. red velvet (covers sl. faded, rubbed). Excellent inside condition.

Confirmation of nobility and creation of arms granted by Empress Maria Theresia to Alexandre-François-Joseph Massart de Montenville, "Stuckhauptmann des Niederländischen Feld Artillerie Corps" (Captain of the Field Artillery Corps of the Low Countries), and his descendants. Ff. 1r-2r with an elaborated border decoration in grey and black incorporating Imperial arms, by Franciscus Meyer (1757). Ill. with a nice full-page painted coat of arms highlighted with lavish gold, with the motto "Que ne ferois je pour elle" (fol. 6r). Signed "Maria Theresia" and countersigned "Henricius Comes a Blumegen" (Heinrich Kajetan von Blümegen).
Prov. [Baron Jean-Baptiste Everaert de Geelhauts (1774-1854)] (mentioned in the auction catalogue of his library, 1854, nr. 199).