Autograph letter signed by Ferdinand de Lesseps about the Suez Canal 1867

LESSEPS, Ferdinand de (1805-1894). Letter signed as President of the Suez Canal Company, concerning the dismissal of an employee. Paris: 17 September 1867.
 
Single sheet folded, approximately 210x270mm, written on one side in French on the printed letterhead of the "Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez", Administration, Secretariat General. Signed by de Lesseps beneath his title "Le President". Addressed at foot to H. Darondeau, 4 Place du Chateau-Rouge, Paris. Old folds and creasing, with a short closed tear at the right-hand edge and some light handling wear; about Very Good.
 
An employment related letter from Ferdinand de Lesseps as President of the Suez Canal Company, written while construction of the canal was still underway. Darondeau had written the previous day asking to re-enter the service of the Company. De Lesseps declines the request, explaining that the reasons which had led to Darondeau's dismissal still remained and that the Company's staffing establishments were full both in Paris and Egypt. He therefore cannot give Darondeau the favourable response he had requested.
 
Ferdinand de Lesseps was the French diplomat and entrepreneur principally responsible for promoting and overseeing the construction of the Suez Canal. The Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez was established in 1858 to construct and operate the canal, with work beginning the following year. This letter dates from September 1867, during the construction period and a little over two years before the canal was formally opened in November 1869. Letters on official Suez Canal letterhead paper signed by Lesseps are rare.