‎Autographes‎

‎Beaumarchais, Marie-Thérèse-Amélie Caron de, third wife of Pierre Beaumarchais (1751-1816).‎

‎Autograph letter. No place or date, [after 1809].‎

‎4to. 4 pp. Concerning her husband, the polymath Pierre Beaumarchais (1732-99), whom she describes as "mon mari et mon meilleur ami pendant vingt ans, et je n'ai rien vu en lui que de louable et de généraux: les nombreuses persécutions dont il a été souvent la victime, n'ont jamais eu le pouvoir de troubler la sérénité de son âme [...]". - Beaumarchais lived with his lover, Marie-Thérèse de Willer-Mawlaz, for 12 years before she became his third wife in 1786. Together they had a daughter, Eugénie. Beaumarchais was accused by his enemies of poisoning his first two wives in order to lay claim to their family inheritance. While there was insufficient evidence to support the accusations, whether or not the poisonings took place is still the subject of debate. - Somewhat browned.‎

‎Cocteau, Jean, French artist (1889-1963).‎

‎"Causerie". Autograph manuscript. [Vevey, 1938].‎

‎Oblong folio. 35 pp. on 37 ff. Brown ink on drawing-paper with some additions and corrections in pencil. Original wrappers. Screw-bound. Illustrated with two original ink drawings, one signed (ca. 53 x 29,5 cm and 19 x 19,6 cm). - Together with an 11-page typed copy of the manuscript with notes and corrections in ink and pencil. Also, a typed description of the manuscript and receipt from the "Librairie Francaise" in London, as well as 3 autograph letters signed with 3 autograph envelopes by Cocteau. Beautiful draft for a lecture given by Cocteau during his four-month stay with his friend, the avant-garde composer Ivor Markevitch, in Vevey, Switzerland in 1938. The French text ranges from apparently incoherent cues to elaborate lines of thought, touching highly diverse subject matters such as surrealism, cubism, jazz, poetry, religion, Orphism, and some of Cocteau's favourite artists and historical figures including Picasso, Max Ernst, Marcel Proust, Baudelaire, and Napoleon. The "Causerie" revolves around an expansive definition of poetry and the idea that poetry is truth itself: "Epoch without sacred monsters. I am one of the last writers whose mythology gradually forms as he exists. Legends, follies, inaccuracies. Advantage of legends; one burns a straw man. Legends surrounding men living in a glass house and recounting everything [...] - We hate the truth. Here we come to the heart of our subject. Poetry is scandalous because it is truth itself. Poets, children (Let [them] come to me, he knew what he did). Quote the Swan in majuscules, very proud. Pure poetry. Nonsense from Minos and Pasiphae. Poetry everywhere. Vinci's time. Believed poet, painter, etc. Alas, we've gone too far. Any photographer is a poet [...] Beware of serious men, laughter rends a man in two, reaching the soul, following the tree, the bird. False grandeur, grandeur laughs. For Max Ernst's admirable photo collages, montages, etc. Poetry of posters, of window displays, of street shops. Music Hall, fun fair for a dime, before, after. Dangerous poetry, poet's room, police raid. Any suspect. Poets come from a country where the language is neither alive nor dead, not yet born, heard. The somnambulist poet exploited by forces, he cannot mingle too much, else he ends up with evil. I do not believe in precursors but loneliness is still loneliness. Even in real poetry [...]". - This beautiful manuscript, complete with two elegant original drawings, is highly illustrative of Jean Cocteau's thinking, influences, and lifelong themes. It was acquired by the literary scholar Bill Chapman in 1954, when he was writing his doctoral thesis on "The Aesthetics of Jean Cocteau". The transcript with extensive notes, explaining Cocteau's allusions and identifying his sources, was prepared by Chapman, who corresponded with Cocteau during his research, as the three enclosed letters show. Referring to the manuscript, Cocteau thanks Chapman for being "the Champollion of his hieroglyphs" and discourages speculative interpretations: "Merci d'essayer d'être le Champollion de mes hieroglyphes. Trop de gens prennent encore des vocables hieroglyphiques des poètes pour de simples figures qu'ils interprètent à leur usage personnel. Soyez l'ami des Nombres et de notre algèbre. Haïssez la Fantaisie et dites vous que nous ne voulons pas être admirés mais être crus. Marco Polo fut appelé le menteur de Venise, parce qu'il témoignait [...]" (Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferret, 22 Feb. 1953). - In a letter from 27 March 1953, Cocteau affirms his position that "artistic and religious audacity are not incompatible", naming the Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain as an influence. In the final letter of the collection, Cocteau taunts the author Jean-Pierre Millecam as an "adorable egocentric" whose selfhood is the "star that governs his sky" (25 Feb. 1954). Apparently, Chapman had warned Cocteau of Millecam's character. - Deep tears to the spine and abrasions to the cardboard wrappers. The first two pages of the manuscript with the illustrations (on verso) are loose. Some pages show minor tears, two pages have further minor damage. Some browning. Two of the letters to Chapman show some tears and creasing.‎

‎Duhamel, Georges , writer (1884-1966).‎

‎Autograph letter signed. Paris, 18. IV. 1819.‎

‎4to. 1 p. Writing about his exhausting and turbulent life and apologizing for not responding earlier: "Je mene depuis ma démobilisation une vie absurede et épuisante. Croyez le bien je suis désolé d'avoir mis si longtemps à vous répondre et de n'avoir pas trouvé le temps de retourner passer quelques heures dans votre cordiale intimité. Je vous adresse la lettre en question, lettre à laquelle je n'ai d'ailleurs pas encore répondre [...]".‎

‎Farrère, Claude, French Navy officer and writer (1876-1957).‎

‎11 autograph letters signed. Biarritz and Paris, 1943-1953.‎

‎Folio and 8vo. Altogether 25 ½ pp. Interesting collection of letters, all addressed to a good friend named Paul whom he calls "Grand" and who appears to be a fellow writer. In a letter from 30 Dec. 1943 Farrère thanks him for dedicating to him a piece called "Fée du platane" and remembers his good friend Pierre Louÿs (1870-1925): "Mon Grand, il y a des semaines, que j'aurais dú t'écrire / au moins depuis le jour que j'ai reçu ta fée du platane, une des plus belles choses que tu aies écrites, et que je suis fier que tu m'aies dédiée. J'ai pensée en la lisant, aux derniers vers / testament qu'écrivit Pierre Louÿs, que nous devons toujours méditer, nous qui touchons à la plume / te souviens-tu?". - In a letter from 1947 he expresses his outrage against Paul Claudel (1868-1955), elected to the Académie française on 4 April 1946: "A propos de l'election de Claudel, j'ai été proprement insulté. Car je ne sais lequel de ces deux bas canards [Claudel et Brisson] a insignué que toutes les attaques brissonnesques contre l'Académie datent de mon élection [...]". Farrère was himself elected to a chair at the Académie française on 26 March 1935, in competition with Paul Claudel, partly thanks to the lobbying efforts of Pierre Benoit. - Further, Farrère reflects on his novels, like "Fern-Errol" and "Homme Seul", which he describes as the "least superficial" works of his life: "Mon Fern-Errol peut plaire ou déplaire / mais je suis sûr que c'est avec mon Homme Seul, ce que j'ai écrit de moins superficiel de toute ma vie […]" (Biarritz, 27 Nov. 1943).‎

‎France, Anatole, French writer (1844-1924).‎

‎Autograph manuscript signed. No place or date.‎

‎4to. 16 pp. mounted on paper. Modern half cloth. Witty short novel titled "Histoire contemporain. L'orthographe", signed on the last page. - France's "L'histoire contemporaine" was published in four parts between 1897 and 1901. The last part, "Monsieur Bergeret à Paris" (1901), deals with the Dreyfus affair. France had signed Zola's manifesto in support of Dreyfus. In the manuscript, Monsieur Bergeret joins an association of grammarians founded by Théophile Sopilixidrette: "Monsieur Bergeret méditait dans son cabinet sur l'aptitude des foules à l'erreur, quand il reçut la visite de Monsieur Théophile Sopilixidrette. Monsieur Sopilixidrette est un homme parfaitement poli, un peu timide et très doux. Mais on ne peut s'y tromper. Sa douceur est l'inflexible douceur des croyants. Monsieur Théophile Sopilixidrette est un réformateur. Il travaille à la réforme avec un zèle religieux et un fanatisme candide. L'oeil ardet et la geste prompte, il ouvrit aux yeux de Monsieur Bergeret un registre couvert de signatueres. Monsieru, dit-il, j'ai fondé l'union des grammairiens pour opérer la révision du dictionnaire en suppriment 2 les anomalies [...]". - Some notes in coloured pencil and corrections.‎

‎Gide, André, French writer (1869-1951).‎

‎7 autograph letters signed. Cuverville (Seine-Maritime) and n. p., 1902.‎

‎Various formats. Altogether 16 ½ pp. on 13 ff. Important French correspondence with the publisher and friend Édouard Ducoté revolving around the literary journal L'Ermitage (1896-1906). In what is probably the earliest letter of the collection, Gide announces that Henri Albert would be willing to publish a passage of his latest Nietzsche translation in L'Ermitage. Gide was eager to see the text in the February issue but Charles Chanvin, another editor, had put Albert off: "It would be good if it appeared in February lest it lose its freshness [...] - But Chanvin told him that L'Ermitage probably would not be able to print it before March. Please speak up to inform him [...]". Albert's translation of an unpublished preface to "Human, All Too Human" ultimately appeared in June 1902. - Gide published two articles in the February issue of 1902 but was highly critical of the copy-editing or the lack thereof: "Effectively, coming back here, I found L'Ermitage. It is really irritating that nobody takes care of revising the proofs one last time. My article is full of very deplorable errors: the apostrophes fall randomly and in such a way that one often understands nothing anymore [...] Why is the title not centered? All of this could be ignored in a polemical magazine but L'Ermitage aspires to be something else [...]" (Cuverville, "Mercredi"). Gide even asks whether the composition of the other article is still intact, as he would like for it to be corrected and reprinted. Concerning this article "Les limites de l'art", Gide had hoped that it would "pass unnoticed" so as "not to amuse Bouhélier too much". This alludes to Gide's turbulent relationship to Saint-Georges de Bouhélier and his literary movement "Le naturisme", an antagonistic reaction to symbolism. - The proofreading problem appears to have persisted, for Gide complains about more errors in the March issue. The letter concerning this issue is highly interesting, as Gide talks about a creative blockage and exhaustion: "We're now twelve days in the countryside. The weather is splendid and spring has begun... Much less so in my head. My mind is frozen as if it were winter; not a sentence, not a word stirs. And I feel as if I had written 'The New Christ'. For twenty days now, the proofs of my book are awaiting me; even to correct them is beyond my abilities; I only have some [energy] for sowing my flowers and for putting hay around my roses. In the meantime, I've read L'Ermitage. The issue is too good not to suffer from being so miserably corrected [...]". The book in question is very likely Gide's famous novel "The Immoralist". - In the only dated letter in this collection, from 15 March 1902, Gide announces some "very mediocre verses" by "a friend of a friend" which he was asked to forward to L'Ermitage. Despite his severe words, Gide casts doubt on his ability to judge the work and leaves the final decision to Ducoté: "I responded directly to my friend that I did not consider them good and that I could not recommend them to you [...] But (I continued to write) that I could, after all, be mistaken and that I would leave to you the office of the final court of appeal [...]". The poet in question was Maurice Cremnitz, a close friend of Guillaume Apollinaire. - Gide spent parts of the summer of 1902 "vagabonding between Biarritz and Cauterets" and planned to visit Ducoté in La Bouille (Normandy): "Yes, I am more than hoping for September; the other day a chiromancer revealed a fatal line to me, so terrible that I do not dare promise anything anymore, but please be assured that I still have the desire and that I am willing to come see you in La Bouille". Both letters in the collection mentioning La Bouille are primarily concerned with Gide's interest in the young Jacques Copeau. After congratulating Ducoté for accepting a text by Francis de Miomandre, Gide praises Copeau's manuscript but expresses some reservations with respect to its publication: "Concerning J. Copeau, I admit that his manuscript is far from displeasing to me; it is well thought, well written and emotionally intelligent; if it were not for my book, I would immediately tell you: publish. But I would have wished L'Ermitage already to have made J. Copeau known for other things; otherwise I fear that L'Ermitage will appear to publish primarily for the subject matter. Furthermore, I would like this prose to be published a little later. November, for example, at the moment when the new edition of 'The Immoralist' appears. Thus, should L'Ermitage lack a little bit of content and you, on the other hand, keep another manuscript of Copeau's in your drawer that, according to you, is not lacking in taste, could you not publish something else by him first? [...]". In the second letter, Gide renews his praise but again urges Ducoté to publish additional texts, as he finds the manuscript "a little bit meager for someone who isn't a Mr. Jammes". In 1902 only Copeau's "Notes d'Enfance" were published in the November issue of L'Ermitage. Gide and Copeau were among the founders of La Nouvelle Revue Française in 1909. - A letter concerning Gide's play "Bethsabé" is likely to be the latest item in the collection. By coincidence, both Ducoté and Gide had written plays based on the biblical story of Bathsheba. In the letter, Gide reassures Ducoté that their works can coexist: "The coincidence is curious indeed but I do not believe that there is much to worry about. What actually surprises me is the difference of our pieces since they are based on the same figures: the theme, the form, the characters, everything differs. I think this stems from the almost unlimited latitude that the Biblical description offers the imagination. And this explains how, for two so dissimilar dramas, the Bible could have tempted two so dissimilar spirits as ours but both solicitous about works of art [...]". L'Ermitage published "Bethsabé" in the January and February issues of 1903. The fate of Ducoté's play "Uriah's wife" is unknown. - Well preserved. With collector's notes in pencil. A third of the second sheet of the letter concerning Copeau's new manuscript has been cut out, but there is no apparent loss of text.‎

‎Hugo, Victor, French writer (1802-1885).‎

‎Autograph letter signed ("Victor-M. Hugo"). N. p., 21. V. 1824.‎

‎4to. 2 pp. on a bifolium. With autograph address and traces of seal. Passionate and elegant letter by the young Hugo to the oppositional publisher Joseph-Dominique Magalon (1794-1867) on the occasion of his release from prison. Hugo expresses his relief and joy about Magalon's release and explains that he had previously lost contact with Charles Alfred Frédéric Fayot, a co-publisher of Magalon's "L'Album", who had served as an intermediary for the two men and thus did not know exactly when Magalon would be set free. Mentioning his own part in the effort to release Magalon, Hugo emphasizes that what little he did was only his duty: "I have not done anything for you that was not part of what I consider the rigorous line of my obligations [...]". If anyone needs to thank somebody, Hugo writes, it is he himself "for the pleasure that your noble sentiments afforded me". Although impeded by "numerous occupations and an eye complaint that torments me", Hugo expresses his hope to meet Magalon soon. - The letter was written in reaction to a note that Magalon had added to his 1823 publication "Souvenirs Poétiques de Deux Prisonniers", thanking Victor Hugo, Chateaubriand, and others for their support. Magalon had been imprisoned in Poissy under harsh conditions and fell ill before being transferred to Paris, where he completed his 13-month sentence. In the note, Magalon apologizes for unfavourable criticism of Hugo's first major publication "Odes et poésies nouvelles" (1822) that he had written for "L'Album" before his imprisonment: "On the occasion of my transfer to Poissy M. Hugo took vengeance in a way worthy of his noble character, be it by petitioning ministers for me, or by making me the object of urgent recommendations that eased the horror of my situation" (Magalon, pp. 107f.). Despite his early fame founded by the "Odes et poésies nouvelles", which earned him a royal pension, Victor Hugo's influence at the time was largely due to his father, the highly decorated General Joseph-Léopold Hugo. Although Victor Hugo was a committed royalist in his early years, the earnest support for the republican Magalon illustrates his integrity and magnanimity in his lifelong fight for justice that forced him into exile 1851. - Some insignificant foxing and minor tears. Modern mounting on stiff paper. V. Hugo, Correspondance. Tome IV (Paris 1952), pp. 116 f. J.-D. Magalon, A. Barginet, Souvenirs Poétiques de Deux Prisonniers (Paris 1823). Cf. F. Letessier, "Les misères d'un journaliste sous la Restauration: J. D. Magalon, Chateaubriand et Victor Hugo", in: Bulletin de l'Association Guillaume Budé : Lettres d'humanité, n°18, décembre 1959.‎

‎Montherlant, Henry de, essayist and novelist (1895-1972).‎

‎Autograph manuscript "Faiblesse". No place, [1913].‎

‎8vo and 4to. Ca. 66 pp. Stored loosely in wrappers. Valuable early notes which Montherlant later used for his works "La Ville dont le Prince est un enfant" (1951) and "Les Garçons" (1967). - In the epilogue of "La Ville dont le Prince est un enfant" Montherlant writes that he remembers his notes for this work, which he made when he was seventeen years old ("cette pièce est le plus anciennement conçu de mes ouvrages [...] J'ai sous les yeux, en effet, les notes, les fragments de scènes que j'en rédigeai en 1913, c'est-à-dire à dix-sept ans. Je ne parvins pas à mettre sur pied cette œuvre"). When he published "Les Garçons" in 1967, he explains that he first had the idea for this work ("La Ville") in 1912/13, but then wanted to write a novel and created "Les Garçons". - The wrappers are captioned "Faiblesse. 4 actes prose" in blue pencil and "Ville" in red pencil. Montherlant tries to come to terms with having been expelled from the Catholic school of Sainte-Croix de Neuilly for being a "corruptor of souls" on 5 April 1912, when aged almost seventeen. The piece revolves around the 17-year-old Jacqueline, an educator called Bernard and a director, M. Lachâtre. Montherlant has the girl's mother think: "un homme de 40 ans sous la surveillance de qui se trouve une petite fille de 17, et qui abuse de son autorité sur elle pour l'entraîner, c'est déjà quelque chose de pas bien propre, mais quand cette petite est un être d'une faiblesse et d'une impulsion exceptionnelles [...] je ne sais pas si vous trouvez ça beau ou esthétique, mais moi, je trouve ça dégoûtant". In Act IV a fight occurs between Bernard and Lachâtre which anticipates the final scene of "La Ville", in which Soubrier and the Abbé de Pradts quarrel: "Et nous nous croyons les justes et les exceptions, et nous ne songions pas à notre faiblesse, à nos deux faiblesses devant un petit être qui, avec son désarroi et sa jeunesse, a été le seul qui tint bon. Quelle faiblesse, mon Dieu! Allez, on n'est pas coupable d'avoir foi en soi [...]". - With annotations and corrections throughout. Some browning.‎

‎Nion, François de, French playwright (1854-1923).‎

‎Autograph letter signed. N. p. o. d.‎

‎12mo. 1 p. Congratulating a friend: "Toutes mes félicitations les plus amicales et les plus affectives et bien cordialement à vous aujourd'hui et toujours [...]". - With traces of former mounting.‎

‎Ohnet, Georges, French novelist (1848-1918).‎

‎26 autograph letters signed and one autograph note signed. La Ferté-sous-Jouarre (Seine-et-Marne), Le Plessis-Trévise (Val-de-Marne) and n. p., 1877-1916.‎

‎8vo and 12mo. Altogether 30 ¾ pp. and 6 lines on 82 ff. Together with a drypoint portrait by Evert van Muyden (100 x 142 mm, plate), two prints of a contemporary photograph (40 x 73 mm), and a copy of the "Album Mariani" about Georges Ohnet. Extensive correspondence spanning almost four decades from the onset of Ohnet's steep literary career to his final years. The earliest dated letter, from 13 August 1877, is written to a journalist who had apparently criticized Ohnet's play "Marthe". Rather submissively, Ohnet announces that he will go back to work and try to satisfy his critic in the future: "Je vois que vous me faites de sérieux reproches et je sens qu'ils sont merités. Je vous suis, croyez le bien, très reconnaissant de m'avoir dit votre manière de voir avec tant de modération. Je sais qu'il n'y a pas d'homme plus impartial et plus juste que vous. Je vais donc me remettre au travail et faire tous mes efforts pour tâcher de vous satisfaire [...]". - Two letters dated 1892 concern the actor Léon Noël. After a spell at the Théâtre du Gymnase under Victor Koning, Noël was hoping for an engagement at the Comédie Française. In these two letters, probably to Jules Claretie, the long-term director of the Comédie, Ohnet unsuccessfully recommends Noël and criticizes Koning's decision not to engage him: "Non, Koning ne garde pas Noël. Et il a bien tort. Mais il a tant d'autres torts! C'est une désolation pour ses amis véritables, dont vous étes, et c'est pourquoi je vous dis cela. Partant un véritable intéret à Noël, j'aurais été heureux de contribuer à le placer à la Comédie. Mais aux raisons que vous me donnez, je n'ai rien à répondre [...]". - In 1902 Pierre Valdagne's "La Confession de Nicaise" was published by Ohnet's publisher Jean Ollendorff. In an undated letter to the author, Ohnet praises the book, associating it with the philosophy of Fichte, and jokingly encourages Valdagne to write "les aventures de Nicaise" as a sequel: "Je viens de finir la confession de Nicaise. Fichte! Je disais à Mendel [Isidore Mendel, director at Ollendorff], Jeudi, que vous n'avez rien fait de cette face là, et que le livre était d'une excellente tenue. Vous me faites l'effet d'un chat qui jusqu'à présent a fait patte de velours, et qui brusquement sort les griffes. Je répète que vous vous soyez arrêté au moment précis où la vie commençait pour Nicaise et pour Réno. Les doux fêtes de joie lachées dans le monde, en possession complète de leur face et avec la conscience très claire de leur infamie, auraient donné un beau spectacle. Mais rien n'est perdu et vous pouvez nous faire les aventures de Nicaise [...]". - From 1914 to 1917 Ohnet published a literary journal about his life in Paris during the war. One letter can be dated to the time of the First Battle of the Marne in 1914, when the front closed up to Paris and the city took in wounded soldiers. Ohnet thanks the recipient, a M. Beaunier, for a letter to his wife in connection with his sister Juliette, an Ursuline in Brive who had allegedly been healed from a severe disease in Lourdes in 1889. He announces that she will write to sister Juliette despite her demanding work as a nurse behind the front. Ohnet complains about the poor preparation of the defense and medical care and reports that "Parisians put beds everywhere" to care for the wounded: "La défense des Blessés n'avait pas été préparée plus que la défense de Paris. Et pendant que les nouveaux chefs mettaient des canons dans les forts, les parisiens plaçaient des lits, partout, pour recevoir les pauvres petits soldats qu'on rapportait des champs de bataille. Ceux à qui votre admirable femme montrera son beau visage penché sur leur souffrance, seront déjà réconfortés". - The last dated letter is to Alfred Humblot, a manager at his publishing house, concerning proofs. Ohnet also asks Humblot to obtain a book on cartomancy for him. The book should be "well done and serious", comparable to Adolphe Desbarrolles' "Les Mystères de la main", a popular work on chiromancy: "Vous seriez bien aimable de faire chercher s'il existe en librairie un livre sur l'art de tirer les cartes - ou sur la cartomancie, qui soit un livre bien fait et sérieux, dans le genre des mystères de la main de Desbarrolles et non un bouquin à l'usage des concierges. Cela doit exciter [...]". - 8 letters on stationery with lithographed letterhead of Ohnet's house "Les abymes" in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre and one letter with printed letterhead of "Bois-la-Croix" in Le Plessis-Trévise. Generally well preserved. Occasional stains and smudging; one letter formerly torn apart but restored. All with traces of folds.‎

‎Paléologue, Maurice Georges, French diplomat and writer (1859-1944).‎

‎Autograph postcard signed. [Giens Peninsula, Var], no date.‎

‎12mo. 8 lines. With autograph address. To the Parisian publishing house and bookshop Émile-Paul Frères, ordering a copy of the latest edition of a therapeutic handbook: "Prière d'envoyer un formulaire thérapeutique de Gilbert y Michel, 1926. (Doin, éd?) à Mme la baronne de Berckheim, Villa Polynesia Giens, près Hyères (Var). Prière de mettre cet ouvrage à mon compte [...]". - On a picture postcard showing a coastal landscape and buildings in the environment of Hyères. Traces of former mounting. Well preserved.‎

‎Régamey, Frédéric, writer and illustrator (1849-1925).‎

‎27 autograph letters signed. London [and Paris], 1872-1880.‎

‎12mo and 8vo. Together 44½ pp. Extensive correspondence with the biographer and historian Maurice Tourneux (1849-1917) providing insights into their friendship, including some invitations, orders, and other matters: "Certainement que je ferai le dessin que vous me demandez. Je suis trop heureux de cette occasion de vous être agréable pour la laisser échapper. Je regrette de ne pas être libre Dimanche prochain [...]". In another letter, Régamey wishes to give Tourneux's address to his brother Félix Régamey (1844-1907), who also worked as an illustrator: "Je viens vous demander un service. Je me suis permis de donner votre adresse à mon frère Félix qui vous envéra une lettre pour moi que je vous serais bien obligé de me retourner. Quand je vous vérai je vous expliquerai cela [...]". Régamey also made some photographs for his friend: "Les photographies seront prêtes Mercredi soir à 9 h. Les 2 premières épreuves coûteront 5 f et ensuite si vous en voulez d'autres 1 f la pièce [...]". - Régamey is known for his paintings and engravings of sport subjects, especially of fencing and horse riding, but also for his military scenes. Tourneux's principal bibliographical achievement was the "Bibliographie de l’histoire de Paris pendant la Révolution française" (3 vols., 1890-1901), which was crowned by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.‎

‎Arnould, Sophie, French operatic soprano (1740-1802).‎

‎6 autograph letters signed. Luzarches, June-November 1800.‎

‎4to and 8vo. Together 23 pp. on 6 bifolia, one with autograph address on verso. Amicable correspondence with Renée Françoise Adélaïde Lemonnier (1767-1833), wife of the mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813), at the Palais National des Sciences et des Arts in Paris. - Missing her greatly, not even feeling it in her power to complain about Lemonnier's new friend: "Oh! je vous ensure mon amie [...] je m'ennui fort de votre absence. Je n'ai seulemen[t] pas les Ressource d'aller (comme à Paris) voir par ma fenestre, si je puis vous appercevoir à la Votre. Je n'ai pas même les Ressources de me mettre de mauvaise humeur contre cette figure à Callot, de Madame M. qui a pris ma place auprès de vous, pour! pour vous aimer moins que je ne vous aimes, assurément [...]" (12 Prairial [1 June]). - In great admiration for Napoleon, crediting him with having an impact on nature as well as politics: "Cet incroyable génie de Bonnaparté s'occupe du Mayence d'y Remédier. Cette Confusion semble s'étendre sur la Nature. Les saison paraissent aussi changées, aussy dérangées que la politique [...] que nous sommes heureux au milieux d'un tel caho, d'avoir un Bonnaparte [...] celuy la est mon dieu [...]" (4 Messidor [23 June]). - About her poor health, having to spend a month in bed, reminding her to be less trusting, alluding to her solitude, and asking for news about mutual friends: "Moy, je vie dans ma maison des champs je ne dirais pas sans chagrins! n'y souris car, J'ay trop d'objets de peines, de Regrêts pour que cela puisse Estre, mais! je crois que je suis un peu plus insousciante sur les vicissitudes de cette miserable vie. Dites moy le que vous faites de vos amis [...]" (5 Complémentaire [22 September]). - Wondering whether she attended a feast given by Napoleon: "Avez vous été témoin [...] de la belle fêtte des honneurs que le brave, le sensible, le spirituel Bouonaparté a fait rendre au temple de Mars en le Grand Turenne: l'on dit que cela estoit superbe [...]" (28 Vendémiaire [20 October]). - Very well preserved.‎

‎Ordonneau, Maurice, French playwright and composer (1854-1916).‎

‎Autograph letter signed. [Paris], 13. V. 1910.‎

‎8vo. ¾ p. on single leaf. With autograph address. To the jurist and writer Gustave Vattier (1827-1914), asking him for his vote in the election of the "Commission des auteurs dramatiques": "Je suis candidat aux élections de la Commission des auteurs dramatiques dont j'ai déjà eu l'honneur de faire partie. Veuillez vous me permettre de vous demander votre suffrage? [...]". - On stationery with embossed letterhead. Slightly stained and with traces of former mounting.‎

‎Lamennais, Félicité de, philosopher and priest (1782-1854).‎

‎12 autograph letters signed and 1 autograph letter. Paris [and no place], 1847-1853.‎

‎8vo and 12mo. Altogether 19 pp. Collection of letters written by the forerunner of liberal and social Catholicism. - Among the addressees are the writer and founder of the "Magasin pittoresque" Edouard Charton (1807-90) and the politician Denis Benoist d'Azy (1796-1880). Lamennais recommends a young man to Edouard Charton: "La lettre incluse, mon cher Charton, est d'un jeune homme [...] qui a grand besoin d'être aidé [...]" (undated). In a letter to Denys Benoist he recommends a young officer called Muirson: "Cette lettre, mon cher ami, te sera remise par M. Muirson, l'officier anglois don't je t'ai parlé" (undated). In a letter to Mme. Maillefer he apologizes for being unable to accept an invitation; in a letter to M. Stubes he thanks for his sending him a copy of the "discours de M. Buckingham sur quelques réformes sociales". Other letters are written to colleagues and cardinals. - Lamennais was ordained a priest in 1817, the same year he published "Essai sur l'indifférence en matière de religion". In 1830, he founded "L'Ami de l'ordre" with Montalembert and Lacordaire. His social ideas embraced an enlarged suffrage, separation of church and state, universal freedom of conscience, instruction, assembly, and the press. His radicalism distanced him from a number of his friends. In 1833, he broke with the Church and published "Paroles d'un croyant" in the following year, which Pope Gregory XVI condemned for its philosophical theories. - Some of the letters brownstained.‎

‎Klee, Paul, painter and graphic artist (1879-1940).‎

‎Autograph letter signed. Berne, 28 Dec. 1939.‎

‎8vo. 1 p. With autograph envelope. To the art historian Joseph Gantner, recently made Professor of Art History at Basle, and to his seminar, thanking for congratulations - probably on the occasion of his 60th birthday, which Klee had celebrated ten days previously: "Von Basel kam für mich immer nur Gutes, und ich weiss, dass ich mich auch diesmal darauf verlassen kann. Dass ich die letzte Vernissage im hiesigen Kunstmuseum versäumte tut mir besonders leid weil ich Sie gerne nach so langer Zeit dort begrüsst hätte; aber es ging bei mir schon vorfeierlich zu, und das hielt mich von der Teilnahme ab [...]". - Slight wrinkles, otherwise perfectly preserved.‎

‎Büchner, Ludwig, Arzt, Politiker und Philosoph (1824-1899).‎

‎Eigenh. Brief mit U. Darmstadt, 27. II. 1886.‎

‎4 SS. auf Doppelblatt. 8vo. An einen Freund mit der Zusage von Beiträgen für eine von Georges Clemenceau gegründete Zeitschrift, möglicherweise das 1880 erstmals erschienene Journal "La Justice", sowie über die reaktionäre Gesinnung in Deutschland, mit Grüßen seiner Frau, und (nicht beiliegenden) Photographien seiner Kinder: "Den freundlichen Wunsch Ihres Freundes, des Herrn Clemenceau, dem ich mich bestens zu empfehlen bitte, erfülle ich gern und bin bereit, ihm, soweit es meine Zeit erlaubt, etwas zu liefern, bitte aber um gefällige Zusendung der neuen Zeitschrift [...] damit ich Geist und Tendenz derselben kennen lerne. Ich kann Ihnen nicht sagen, wie sehr ich Sie jetzt darum beneide, dass Sie in einem freien Lande leben können, während bei uns in Deutschland die Reaction gegenwärtig solche Fortschritte macht, dass es kaum mehr für einen freidenkenden Mann möglich ist, auszudauern. Ich namentlich bin fast unausgesetzt der Gegenstand der infamsten Angriffe, und zwar nicht bloss von Seiten der eigentlich reactionären, sondern auch der sogenannten liberalen Presse. Wäre ich ein unabhängiger Mann, ich hätte längst den Staub von den Füssen geschüttelt und wäre zu Ihnen nach Paris gekommen [...] Meine Frau erwidert Ihre und Ihrer verehrten Nichte Jeanne freundliche Grüsse auf das Herzlichste und erinnert sich stets mit grossem Vergnügen der schönen Tage, die sie in Ihrer Gesellschaft in Paris zugebracht [...] Sie ist unglücklich darüber, dass Sie immer noch nicht im Stande ist, Ihnen die gewünschten Photografieen unsrer vier Kinder zusenden zu können, da es immer an Exempel mangelt. Ich schicke Ihnen einstweilen zwei davon [...]". - Auf Briefpapier mit gepr. Briefkopf. Vereinzelt leicht gebräunt. Beliegend ein Doppelblatt aus dem "Catalogue des livres rares et précieux" der Bibliothek des Architekten und Sammlers Hippolyte Destailleur (Paris, Demascène Morgand, 1891).‎

‎Driant, Émile, French politician, writer, and army officer (1855-1916).‎

‎Autograph letter signed. 47 Avenue Henri Martin [Paris], 28. XII. 1910.‎

‎8vo. 3 pp. on bifolium. To an agent about his new house in Nancy, announcing to commission an architect to prepare a cost estimate, but happy to have him supervise the work in progress and those carrying them out as soon as possible, rendering the architect unnecessary: "Nous approuvons votre proposition. Nous avions cru qu'il était plus avantageux de faire faire mes devis par un architecte, quitte à y comprendre ses honoraires, mais du moment que vous voulez bien vous charger d'avoir l'oeuil sur ces travaux et de choisir ceux qui les exécutent, l'architecte deviant inutile". Further, Briant mentions his wife's intention to accompany him to Nancy to choose tapestries in January, as well as their plan to deliver furniture on 1 April, hoping the recipient would provide them with a kitchen stove and bathtub in those 3 months, either from the showroom or second-hand, concluding by asking him to estimate the duration of the works: "Madame Driant m'accompagnera à Nancy vers le 15 Janvier pour le choix des papiers et la détermination des petits travaux. Nous apportions les premiers meubles le 1er Avril. Vous serait-il possible au cours de ce trimestre, soit à la salle des ventes soit par occasion, de nous acquérir dans des bonnes conditions le fourneau de cuisine et le baignoire qui manquent? Vous voyez que je ne me gêne pas [...] A combien de temps estimez-vous la durée de ces travaux? [...]". - On headed mourning paper of the "Chambre des députés". With traces of former mounting on verso.‎

‎Gessler, Carl Friedrich von, kgl. preußischer Kammerherr (1752-1829).‎

‎Reisepass mit eigenh. U. Dresden, 19. II. 1790.‎

‎1 S. Folio (ca. 227:365 mm). Gedruckter Reisepass mit handschriftlichen Eintragungen für den Gesandten Amadeus Lard anlässlich seiner Reise nach St. Petersburg mit einem Gefolge von fünf Personen: "Carl Friedrich Graf von Geßler, Sr. Königl. Majestät von Preußen würklicher Geheimer Finanz-Rath, Cammer-Herr, und außerordentlicher Gesandter am Churfürstlich Sächßischen Hofe, Erb- und Gerichts-Herr auf Dirschel und Ehrenberg etc. Nachdem Vorzeiger dieses Amedé Lard Capitaine Lieutenant als Secretair in Königl. Sardinischen Diensten mit einem Gefolge von 5 Persohnen und Equipage nach St. Petersburg zu reysen gesonnen ist als ergehet an alle Hohe und Niedere Militair- und Civil-Gerichte, ins besondere aber an die Königl. Preußische mein respective ergebenst und dienstliches Ersuchen, nurgedachten [...] ungehindert passiren zu lassen [...]". - Mit kleinen Randläsuren. Drei Einrisse alt mit Papierstreifen hinterlegt.‎

‎[Leopold Joseph von Lothringen, Herzog von Lothringen (1679-1729)].‎

‎Kaufvertrag. Bockenheim (Sarre-Union), 9. IX. 1710.‎

‎1¼ SS. Qu.-Folio (ca. 236:460 mm). Mit papiergedecktem Wachssiegel in Holzfassung (beschädigt). Turbert, Tabellion und Gardenotte (Notar) der Stadt Bockenheim (Bouquenom, heute zu Sarre-Union), sowie die Bürger und Rotgerber Johann Heinrich Metzger und Johann Bartel kaufen je zur Hälfte einen Grund mit einer Wiese, zwei Gärten und einem Acker von den unmündigen Kindern des verstorbenen Erasmus Arnold, die die beim Kauf entstandenen Schulden nicht bezahlen können: "Wir der Statt Bockenheim Tabellion [...] thun kund und bekenen, daß vor uns komen und persöhnlich erschienen ist, der Ehrbare Johann Dominicus Bruder, Bürger und Schloßer alhier, weylandt H. Erasmo Arnoldy hinderlasenen unmündigen Kindern Ihrer Vormünder, welcher mit Beystandt Brigittae Baltzerin, deren unmündigen Kindern Eheleibliche Mutter [...] zu verstehen gaben, wie daß zu erlößung eines Kauffs vom 11ten Feburari 1697 betreffend ein etzel auf dem Brühl, sambt zween gärten [...] wie auch ein halb ackerfelts [...] gekauft gehabt, sie den letzten verwichenen 14ten Aprillis eine Summa von 159 fl. 1 s. 6 d. bey uns tabellion alß hiesiger substitut entlehnt, aber unmöglich diese Summa ohne große Interresse undt Schaden, da sie doch sehr arm, wieder erlegen können, alß habe er Vormünder mit rath der Wittiben [...] zu besten Nutzen deren unmündigen Kindern, einen ewigen undt erblichen Erbkauf zu kauffen geben [...] den auch ehrsamen Johann Henrich Metzger der Jüngere, undt Johan Bartel [...] beide Schwäger Bürger undt rodt gerber alhier, so auch gegenwertig undt diesen Kauff zum halben Theil [...] angenommen [...] den andern halben Theil [...] dieses Kaufs mir gesagtem Tabellion wie Ich dan selben auch zum halben angenomen [...] Undt ist demnach dieser Kauff zugangen, geschehen undt beschloßen worden, worundt umb die Summa 196 fl. 9 s. baargelt, so zu bezahlung der Schulden ist angewendt worden [...]". - Mit anhängendem Siegel des Herzogs von Lothringen. Das Siegel etwas lädiert; ein Ende des Pergamentstreifens zur Siegelbefestigung lose.‎

‎Mun, Adrien Albert Marie comte de, French politician (1841-1914).‎

‎2 autograph letters signed and 1 calling card with autograph note. Paris and n. p., 2 Dec. 1898, 13 Jan. 1912 and n. d.‎

‎12mo. Altogether 4 pp. and 1 line. In the letter dated 2 December 1898 Mun congratulates a friend on a lecture given at the Académie Française and expresses his gratitude to be associated with his cause: "La nomination chez la [...] Commission d'Entrepreneurs m'a empêché, hier, d'aller à l'Académie où j'aurais voulu vous dire combien la note que vous avez mise à la première page de votre belle Confèrence m'avait touché. Je vous prie de trouver ici l'expression de ma gratitude: c'est un grand bonheur pour moi d'être ainsi associé à la grand cause que vous poursuivez avec tant d'éclat [...]". - The second letter was written ahead of a reception of the symbolist poet Henri de Régnier (1864-1936) at the Académie Française by Mun on 18 January 1912. Mun thanks the recipient for an article and his support in a campaign and announces that on the day of the reception he will for the first time wear on his chest a medal in commemoration of the Franco-Prussian war: "Votre témoignage, comme votre article, me sont de précieux encouragements dans la campagne d'opinion que je voudrais ardemment mener avec tous les bons Français. Jeudi, en recevant à l'Académie M. de Regnier, j'aurai, sur la poitrine, pour la première fois, la Medaille 'Couleur de deuil et d'espérance!' Puisse t-elle devenir un signe de ralliement [...]" (13 Jan. 1912). Adrien Albert de Mun's reception speach is notorious for his vehement criticism of Régnier's work. - The undated calling card was presented with a note of thanks: "avec tous mes remerciments". - Both letters on cards with lithographed letterheads. The earlier letter and the visiting card with mourning border. All items with traces of former mounting.‎

‎Bailby, Léon, journalist (1867-1954).‎

‎2 autograph letters signed and 1 autograph calling card. Paris and no place, 19 May 1909 and no date.‎

‎4to, 8vo and 100 x 61 mm. Together (1½+2+1 =) 4½ pp. Recommending Marie Leconte: "[...] La diction de Marie Leconte est excellente. Et elle est fine et intelligente. C'est elle que je vous propose avant toute autre [...]". In the other letter Bailby regrets being unable to meet the recipient: "Je trouve votre aimable lettre en rentrant de Strasbourg ce matin. [...] nos vies sont bien occupées et j'ai peur qu'elles ne se rencontrent pas souvent! [...] J'espere être en Bretagne par la fin de l'été [...]" (4 June). - With slight paper flaws and traces of mounting.‎

‎Fabre, Ferdinand, French novelist (1827-1898).‎

‎Autograph letter signed and autograph calling card signed. Fontenay-sous-Bois and no place, 29 Jan. 1878 and 18 June 1889.‎

‎8vo and oblong 12mo. Together (1+1½ =) 2½ pp. To Albert Collignon, editor-in-chief of the literary journal "Vie Littéraire", thanking him for the latest issue: "Je viens de lire le dernier Numero de la vie Littéraire, et je suis très heureux de vous envoyer l'expression de ma très vive sympathie [...]". - To a colleague about his retreat to the countryside and his poor health, mentioning that he is touched by his friendly letter about his autobiographic novel "Ma Vocation" (1889): "Retiré depuis deux mois à la campagne et un peu souffrant, ce n'est qu'aujourd'hui qu'un ami m'apporte vos très aimables lignes à propos de 'Ma Vocation'. J'ai été très touché [...]". On mourning paper. - A portrait cabinet card, as well as a smaller portrait of Fabre from the Félix Potin collections that were offered with Félix Potin chocolate bars between 1898 and 1922 under the title "contemporary celebrities", and a newspaper clipping briefly listing Fabre's works are loosely enclosed. - With traces of former mounting on verso.‎

‎Fauchois, René, French dramatist, librettist, and actor (1882-1962).‎

‎5 autograph letters signed and 4 autograph quotations signed. Paris, Brussels and Sceaux, 1903-1919 and no date.‎

‎8vo and 4to. Together 8 pp. on 4 bifolia and 5 single sheets. 2 letters with autograph address on verso; one with autograph envelope mounted on verso. Amicable correspondence, mainly with the poet and autograph collector Bienvenu Roux in Avignon. - With thanks for his poems that brightened his time in hospital, where he recently underwent surgery from which he is recovering by going for walks in the autumnal park, thankful that he will retain from the surgery nothing but a memory, unlike many soldiers who suffered more severe wounds: "Excusez-moi, Monsieur et cher Poète, d'avoir tant tardé à vous remercier de l'envoi de vos jolis vers. J'ai été opéré ici et je ne suis entré que depuis quelques jours en convalescence. Je commence à marcher dans les allées du parc que l'automne a doré et je reprends goût à toutes les choses bonnes de la vie, parmi de pauvres soldats plus blessés que moi, qui ne garderai de mon opération que des souvenirs. J'ai lu plusieurs fois vos poèmes et leur musique a adouci quelques uns de mes instants d'hôpital [...]" (Hôpital du Lycée Lakanal, Sceaux, undated). A paper strip with his new address is mounted. - Looking forward to reading Roux' latest work on his return to Paris, pointing out that the success of his own poem "Pénélope" (1913) was due mostly to the composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): "L'envoi de votre volume de vers que vous m'annoncez avec tant de grâce de trop de modestie me touche infiniment [...] Dès mon retour, j'en prendrai connaissance avec le plus vif intérêt [...] Le succès de 'Pénélope' est dû à l'admirable partition de Gabriel Fauré: je n'ai fait que fournir un prétexte à l'inspiration d'un grand maître [...]" (Hotel Métropol, Brussels, 25 Feb. 1919). - About the poem "La Forêt Sacrée" (1916), hastily composed, rehearsed and performed in 12 days, resulting in nothing but an improvisation of the same: "'La Forêt Sacrée' fut composée, répètée et jouée en douze jours, c'est vous dire qu'elle n'est qu'une improvisation, un rêve noté hâtivement [...]" (Paris, undated). On stationery with embossed monogram. - The remaining letters to the actor Raphael Duflos (1858-1946), encouraging him to set a date and time for their next meeting, as well as to a friend whom he hopes soon to meet to congratulate him on his latest stories. - The inscriptions are written on loose pages from presentation copies of "Vitrail" (1916) and "La Veillée" (1915), as well as an advertisement for "L'attente" (1915), all three issued to Bienvenu Roux; one to the writer Hector Fleischmann (1882-1914) is taken from a presentation copy of "Crépuscule" (1902): "A Hector Fleischmann, au somptuaise poète, évocateur des soirs tragiques de la décadence, ce cri de ma jeunesse au crépuscule des temps modernes [...]" (1903). - Traces of former mounting on versos. 2 portraits of Fauchois, clipped from journals, are loosely enclosed.‎

‎Ginisty, Paul, French writer and journalist (1855-1932).‎

‎8 autograph letters signed, 1 autograph manuscript signed, and 2 autograph calling cards. Paris and n. p., n. y.‎

‎Various formats. Altogether 11 pp. and 9 lines on 28 ff. Together with a contemporary photograph. Engaging collection of autographs reflecting Ginisty's manifold interests and occupations. Three items can be dated with respect to their content. On 12 November 1911 Ginisty writes to André Messager, the director of the Paris Opera, or to Camille Saint-Saëns directly, asking for two tickets to the dress rehearsal of Saint-Saëns' "Déjaniré" ahead of the Paris premiere: "Je pense avoir quelques titres, en souvenir de Béziers et de l'Odéon, à vous demander deux places pour la répétition générale de Déjaniré. Je n'ai pas besoin de vous dire combien je serai heureux d'applaudir l'ouvrage que j'ai naguère monté, sous sa première forme [...]". Ginisty refers to the original version of "Déjaniré" as a tragedy with accompanying symphonic music, choruses and a ballet, which had successfully premiered in the arena of Béziers in August 1898. An abridged version of Louis Gallet's play with Saint-Saëns' music premiered at the Théâtre de l'Odéon on 11 November 1898 under Ginisty's direction (1896-1906). In 1910 Saint-Saëns adapted his composition as an opera in fulfilment of a commission by the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Following the premiere in Monte-Carlo on 14 March 1911, André Messager conducted the Paris premiere of "Déjaniré" on 22 November 1911. - A letter to the sociologist and feminist Léopold Lacour (1854-1939) can be dated to 1914, as Ginisty thanks the recipient for a copy of his 1914 book "Les maîtresses & la femme de Molière". - The manuscript in the collection is an article entitled "Une Histoire Vénitienne" that appeared in "Comœdia" on 26 July 1921. In the text Ginisty describes a pompous memorial mass at San Marco's Basilica for a benefactor named Soldini. - In a letter that probably dates to the 1880s, Ginisty announces to the unnamed recipient that he had passed on the post of editor-in-chief at "La Vie Populaire" to Catulle Mendès: "J'étais, en effet, chargé de la redaction de la Vie populaire, depuis quatre ans ... Mais - depuis dix jours - je ne l'ai plus, et j'ai passé la main à Catulle Mendès. Pourquoi, diable, ne m'avez vous pas écrit dix jours plus tôt?" (Paris, 9 Feb., n. y.). The literary biweekly was launched in 1880 by the prominent newspaper "Le Petit Parisien". Mendès was among the founders of "La Vie Populaire", but Ginisty served as editor-in-chief before him. - In a letter dated 8 September (no year), Ginisty thanks a journalist emphatically for a favourable review, probably of a performance at the Odéon: "Je ne saurais vous dire combien je suis touché de votre aimable lettre, et je vous en remercie bien vivement. Vous connaissez si parfaitement le théâtre que votre approbation a pour moi un prix particulier, et je garderai votre lettre comme un précieux encouragement dans cette voie [...]". - Two letters on stationery with printed letterhead of the "Société de L'Histoire du Théatre" and one on stationery with printed letterhead of "Le Petit Parisien". Generally well preserved. The manuscript and the letter concerning "Déjaniré" show crayon marks. Manuscript slightly creased, smudged and unprofessionally bound with tape. All objects with traces of former mounting.‎