“LOUIS XV LETTER OF SERVICE ON LARGE PARCHMENT SIGNED ON APRIL 13, 1740” In favor of de Voisins Aide-Major of the Varoix 
Battalion in the Royal Artillery Regiment to Hold the Rank of Captain

Countersigned by Francois Victor Le Tonnelier de Breteuil - Secretary of State of War under Louis XV
Size: 19" x 9" (48.5 cm x 23 cm), Signed 
François Victor Le Tonnelier de Breteuil (17 April 1686 – 7 January 1743 in Issy) was a French nobleman. He was minister for war twice under Louis XV. He was also Chancellor, Keeper of the 
Seals of the Queen's House and commander, provost and Grand Master of ceremonies to the Order of the Holy Spirit (1721–1743).
He was a member of the Le Tonnelier de Breteuil family. He was the marquis of Fontenay-Tresigny, sire de Villebert, seigneur de Breteuil, du Mesnil-assemartin, des Chapelles, de Villenevotte 
et de Palaiseau, baron de Boitron et de Preuilly
A very interesting historical fact that in this letter King mentions the name of his bellowed cousin the Colonel Lieutenant Le Comte d’ Eu who was in charge of the regiment.  
Line # 9 on the left:
“.. to do this, we give you power, commission, authority and a special mandate. Let us order our cousin the Count of Eu Colonel Lieutenant of our regiment or in his absence to the one who commands 
    the battalion of Varoix to receive you and have you recognized in the said capacity..”
List of Counts of Eu
• 1693-1736: Louis Auguste de Bourbon (1670 – 1736), Duke of Maine. Legitimized son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan;
• 1736-1755: Louis Auguste de Bourbon (1700 – 1755), Prince of Dombes. Son of the previous;
• 1755-1775: Louis Charles de Bourbon (1701 – 1775). Count of Eu, brother of the preceding;
• 1775-1793: Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon (1725 – 1793), Duke of Penthièvre. Son of Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse (another legitimized son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan);
• 1793-1821: Marie-Adélaïde de Bourbon (1753 – 1821). Daughter of the previous;
Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Prince of Dombes (4 March 1700 in Palace of Versailles – 1 October 1755 in Palace of Fontainebleau) was a grandson of Louis XIV of France and of his maîtresse-en-titre 
Françoise-Athénaïs de Montespan. He was a member of the legitimized House of Bourbon-Maine.

Unlike his father, the prince de Dombes was of high military skill. Louis-Auguste served under the renowned military commander Prince Eugene of Savoy in the Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718). 
He also fought in the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1738) and in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748).
Upon the death of his father (to whom he was very close), on 14 May 1736 at the Château de Sceaux, he inherited the bulk of his wealth and his titles.
He became Colonel General of the Cent-Suisses et Grisons (1710), Governor of Languedoc (1737), Grand veneur de France and Count of Eu (1736).

In 1750, he gained the titles of prince d'Anet and comte de Dreux, when his mother gave him both estates three years before she died. Little seen at the court of his cousin Louis XV of France, 
he preferred living at the Château d'Anet, which he continued to embellish. In order to supply water for his gardens, he created a hydraulic system which he installed in the park of the domain near the river Eure. 
He also enjoyed hunting on his large estate of Eu.

Louis-Auguste died on 1 October 1755, at the age of fifty-five, in a duel at Fontainebleau. His younger brother, Louis Charles, was his only heir.