BOUILLÉ (Count Fernand de). First ascent of the Aiguille du Midi. Nantes, by the author, 1856. In-8°, paperback, printed cover. First edition, printed in a small number by Aimé Hahn in Bonnevile. Brochure with the certificate of ascent on the back, wet-stamped by the commune of Chamonix and the Compagnie des Guides. On this page, the printed name of the guide Joseph Devouassoud has been corrected by hand by Jean Devouassoud . The author describes the first ascent of the Aiguille du Midi made on 5 August 1856 by his guides Jean-Alexandre Dévouassoud, Ambroise and Jean Simond; he himself did not reach the summit, the guides having dissuaded him from attempting to climb the last 24 metres of the summit peak: "There is not one of you," said Simond, addressing the other guides and myself, "capable of going up there without dying. My soul may go there when I die, but my body never will. Besides, the deal is done, the flag is there; nothing can ever force me to go back there, it's too certain a death". The French flag displayed at the summit was, of course, the white flag, the standard of the Monarchy. Before this successful ascent, Fernand de Bouillé had attempted to reach the summit three times, first directly from the Plan de l'Aiguille in 1855 (he was stopped by vertical icy rocks), then the same year via the Mer de Glace (this time it was impassable crevasses that stopped him) and finally a few days before the ascent via the Bossons glacier, which he was unable to cross to reach the base of the Aiguille. Autograph signed letter from the author to the Intendant de la province de Faucigny on the back cover. Extremely rare brochure.