LE VENGEUR DE 1870" DAGGER PERSONALLY PRESENTED TO GENERAL CHARLES DE GAULLE IN JUNE 1940 Wooden handle; iron cross; blade with central edge, hallmarked at the heel "LE VENGEUR DE 1870"; without scabbard B.E. Length: 28.5 cm Accompanied by her letter of delivery (3 p. handwritten) from Miss Rose Graham to General de Gaulle on 26 June 1940. Headed "12 Ladbroke Gardens W.1" with pencil annotation "R(ecu) 4-7-40". "To Monsieur le Général de Gaulle, I beg you to accept this dagger (from a Turk), which is inscribed the Avenger of 1870. It is a souvenir of the 1914-1918 war. I offer it to you as a token of my hope and confidence that you will be the Avenger of 1940. My mother and I love France and its provincial towns so much, where we have travelled so happily, and we are sorry for the misfortunes of our friends and allies. [...] " The letter is signed "Miss Rose Graham C.B.E.". Historical background: An extraordinary symbol of the farsightedness of General de Gaulle's 1st hour supporters, this dagger shows that already in the hours of the defeat of June 1940, the General was encouraged in addition to the British authorities by anonymous people and intellectuals in his determination to fight and avenge the defeat. The fact that it was kept by the General also shows his deep attachment to these early supporters. The woman who wrote this missive was far from anonymous, as her title "C.B.E." ("Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire") shows. ("Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire") mentioned at the end of the missive: she was the historian Rose Graham (1875-1963), a specialist in church history who, with her mother Jane, travelled all over France for her research. She was awarded a doctorate in literature in 1929 and became President of the British Archaeological Association in 1945. Provenance : - Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970) - Then Admiral Philippe de Gaulle (1921-2024) - Then descendants