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Membrée, Edmond, French composer (1820-1882).
3 autograph letters signed. N. p. o. d.
8vo and 12mo. Together 3 pp. on bifolia. A letter to a Plouvier (not the librettist Édouard Plouvier, 1820-76) can be dated after 1879, as Membrée mentions a performance of his opera "La Courte Échelle" that had premiered on 10 March 1879 at the Opéra-Comique: "Merci, mon cher Plouvier, pour votre affectueux souvenir auquel j'ai été très sensible. Je compte vous faire tous mes compliments la première fois que je vous verrai, en même temps que je vous dirai tous nos regrets de ne vous avoir pas vu le jour de la Courte-Échelle. Oh ! mais ... Je vais me mettre à faire des vers, moi ! Il n'est pas trop tard !". Membrée knew Édouard Plouvier, and it seems likely that he addressed a member of his family. - In a short letter, Membrée asks the secretary general of the Comédie-Française, Alexis-Jules Verteuil, for theatre tickets. - The third letter is to apologize to an unnamed recipient for being unable to decline a conflicting invitation: "J'ai fait ce que j'ai pu pour me dégager de l'invitation que j'avais acceptée pour Vendredi, cela ne m'a pas été possible". - Two letters on stationery with embossed monogram. The letter to the unnamed recipient with a small hole and duststained.
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Miolan Carvalho, Caroline, French soprano (1827-1895).
1 autograph letter signed and 1 autograph visiting card. Paris and n. p., 26 June 1891 and 12 Jan. 1888.
Oblong 12mo and visiting card format. 2 pp. and 3 lines. The letter to an unnamed recipient, possibly the writer Édouard-Auguste Spoll, asking him to authorize the composer J.-M. Mayan to use a portrait of her for his publication "Le Chant et la voix, étude complète de l'art lyrique" (Paris, 1891): "Monsieur Mayan m'écrit que vous voulez bien lui accorder l'autorisation de se servir pour sa méthode de chant d'un portrait que vous avez publié lors de ma biographie. Si vous n'éprouvez aucun inconvénient je vous serai très obligé de lui accorder cette autorisation." Spoll is the author of the only contemporary biography of the famous singer "Mme Carvalho : notes et souvenirs avec un portrait à l'eau-forte par Lalauze" (Paris, 1885). - The visiting card with lithographed name to thank an unnamed person: "avec ses remerciements et ses souhaits bien sincères". - Caroline Miolan Carvalho was considered one of the greatest sopranos of her time. As the prima donna at the Théâtre Lyrique (1856-67) she created several of Charles Gounod's most famous roles, including Marguerite in Faust (1859), Baucis in Philémon et Baucis (1860), and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette (1867). - Minor browning. The visiting card with staple holes.
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Newman, Ernest (i.e., William Roberts), musicologist (1868-1959).
Typed letter signed with few autograph corrections. Tadwoth (Surrey), 14. IV. 1931.
8vo. 1 page. To the musician Frederick Allan Wilshire (1868-1944). Newman is unable to provide information on Wagner Societies in England and gives an outline of the work that preoccupied him at the time: "I am glad to hear of the formation of your Wagner Society, and wish it good luck and long life. I don't know whether there are any other Wagner Societies still in existence in England. I would suggest your asking the Musical Times [...] I have completely given up lecturing: I have about a dozen books on hand, and I have had do give up every form of activity that draws upon the time I need for these. It seems a long while now since we heard the 'Ring' in Bristol. These were great days! [...]". In 1931 Newman had published his work "Fact and Fiction about Wagner". - With embossed letterhead.
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Ouseley, Frederick, composer (1825-1889).
Autograph letter signed. Hereford, 28. VIII. 1886.
8vo. 1 page on bifolium. With autograph envelope. To the musician Frederick Allan Wilshire (1868-1944) in Bristol: "Sir / I am happy to be able to comply with Your request / I am Yours faithfully / Frederick A G Ouseley". - Envelope embossed with the Ouseley family crest and the motto "Mors lupi agnis vita", somewhat duststained.
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Puccini, Giacomo, Italian composer (1858-1924).
Six autograph letters and postcards signed ("Giacomo" and "GPuccini"). Paris, 1906.
8vo and oblong 12mo. Altogether 12 pages on 8 ff. 4 items written in violet ink, Paris, Grand Hôtel de Londres, 23 October to 12 December 1906 where dated. Stamp removed from one postcard with loss of text; two letters apparently incomplete. Five unpublished letters to Sybil Seligman, Puccini’s closest female friend and his most important advisor after Giulio Ricordi, and one to her husband David, reporting his arrival in Paris, the first rehearsal at the Opéra-Comique, and his expectation that the opera will be staged within about a month, which will leave too little time before his departure for New York, expressing his anguish at matters going from bad to worse with the soprano Marguerite Carré, for whom the title role is too demanding, admitting he is constrained from stating his position openly, for fear of ruining the forthcoming production of La Bohème, and that he is leaving it until as late as possible to give his blessing to the production, hoping his fears are not realized. He also discusses the book by Oscar Wilde (A Florentine Tragedy) that Sybil was going to send him, meetings with Maurice Vaucaire about Conchita, and his travel plans to Milan, Torre de Lago and New York, and writes to David Seligman, asking for Sybil to be allowed to attend the production in Paris ("Cara Sybil, angustie sopra angustie! Qui si va di male in peggio, passo indietro esigenze ridicole tutte a causa di Mme Carré la quale a mio parere ha un rôle troppo forte. Temo che non andremo in scena o mai o forse molto tardi. Dico mai perché m’aspetto all’ultimo momento quando si eseguirà l’opera [...] Figuratevi dunque in che stato d’animo io sia! E mia salute tanto male! [...]"). - The letters to Sybil are unpublished. Puccini clearly expresses his frustration with Marguerite Carré, who sang the title role in the French premiere of Madama Butterfly; it was staged at the Opéra-Comique on 28 December 1906 and established the opera in the definitive form in which it is usually performed today. Mme. Carré was the wife of the Director of the theatre, Albert Carré (who staged and produced the opera), but was clearly out of her depth. The letter to David Seligman is published, not quite complete, in V. Seligman, Puccini Among Friends, (1938), p. 3.
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Richepin, Tiarko, French composer (1884-1973).
Autograph letter signed and 1 autograph musical manuscript signed. N. p. o. d., "Lundi matin" and 1941-1944.
8vo and folio. 1 p. and 3¼ pp. Blue ink on 20-stave paper, 4 systems of 3 staves per page. The letter to a M. Dauret, asking him to fill out and return an attached form. - The manuscript is a copy Rynaldo's aria "Viens ! Mon seul amour, c'est toi !" (finale of the 2nd act) from Richepin's last composition, the operetta "L'Auberge qui chante". Completely forgotten today, the operetta premiered on 4 October 1941 at the Gaîté Lyrique in Paris with André Dassary as Rynaldo. As the piece was considered to represent the "new style" imposed by the Vichy regime, it was dropped entirely from the programmes in 1944. - The letter with some browning and smudges. The manuscript with some browning and occasional tears. Several staves erased and redrawn for corrections.
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Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai, Russian composer (1844-1908).
Autograph letter signed. [Brussels], 13. III. 1900.
8vo. 2 pp. on bifolium. With autograph envelope. In Russian. Insightful letter to the Russian-French journalist Michel Delines in Nice, concerning rehearsals in Brussels, obligations in St Petersburg, and the possibility of staging his operas at La Monnaie in Brussels under the forthcoming directorate of Maurice Kufferath. Rimsky-Korsakov was rehearsing "daily the programme of the concert" after which he would have to return to St Petersburg, as he was "obliged to attend the rehearsals of two symphony concerts", complaining that, "as a professor at the Conservatory", he is "always busy and obliged to be there". Concerning the staging of his operas in Brussels, Rimsky-Korsakov stresses that it is "premature to talk about it, because the theatre has not yet passed under the directorate of Kufferath". In addition, the librettos would have to be translated, "which depends on the publishers (Belaieff and Bessel)". In closing, Rimsky-Korsakov promises to "see to it that Belaieff" sends Delines "the scores of his operas that he does not know yet" but declines a visit in Paris due to his aforementioned obligations. - Rimsky-Korsakov first met Michel Delines in the summer of 1889 when he conducted two concerts on the occasion of the World Exhibition. Delines, born as Mikhael Osipovich Ashkenazi (1851-1914), had been active in revolutionary circles in Odessa and went into exile in 1878, eventually settling in Paris. There he made a name for himself as a journalist and as a promoter and translator of Russian literature, including works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. In 1888, Delines was introduced to Tchaikovsky and subsequently started to promote Russian music in his new home. He translated the libretto of "Yevgeny Onegin" and facilitated its French premiere in Nice in 1895. As this beautiful letter shows, Delines was also eager to promote Rimsky-Korsakov's music in the francophone world. The composer appreciated Delines' efforts, including a translation of his opera "Sadko". In his autobiography, Rimsky-Korsakov has warm words for the journalist: "We also made the acquaintance of Michel Delines, subsequently translator of Onyegin and of my Sadko. With the exception of Delines, all these acquaintanceships proved most superficial [...] Delines was a kind man, danced attendance upon us, aided us in many things" (My Musical Life, New York 1945, pp. 303f.). - On stationery with lithographed letterhead of the "Hotel Metropole Bruxelles". Traces of folds; minor tears to the vertical fold.
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Saint-Saëns, Camille, French composer (1835-1921).
5 autograph letters signed. Paris, Cairo, and n. p., 1892-1913.
8vo and oblong 8vo. Together 10½ pp. Interesting collection of letters spanning three decades, including a passionate plea for artistic freedom. This plea is part of an undated letter that was probably addressed to the writer and theatre director Paul Ginisty. After congratulating the recipient on a representation of Corneille's Cid, Saint-Saëns writes at length about authorship and artistic ingenuity, dismissing the possibility of "machine art" and describing a "special cerebral state" during the production of a work of art that "ends forever when the work is finished". In closing, Saint-Saëns praises Ginisty's Théâtre de l'Odéon as a "theatre of art" and pleads with the recipient to "preserve this character well", reminding him that there is only one way to achieve this: "liberty" as "art does not live in captivity". Paul Ginisty, identified as the recipient in a collector's note, was director of the Odéon from 1896 to 1906. Camille Saint-Saëns' Déjanire had its Paris premiere at the Odéon in 1898. - The earliest letter in the collection was written to thank an unnamed friend and collaborator for his devotion: "Vous êtes toujours le plus dévoué et le plus délicieux des amis. Merci à tous mes interprètes et bien des amitiés à mes vieux copains [...]" (Paris, 16 August 1892). - On 16 February 1903 Saint-Saëns wrote from Cairo to an unnamed impresario in Aix, reporting that the mezzosoprano Charlotte Wyns enjoyed a "truly extraordinary success in Alexandria in Proserpine" and suggesting that she and the tenor Edmond Clément should sing in Proserpine in Aix, where he would join the rehearsals. - In a charming letter from 28 June 1913, the maestro thanks a young singer for her letter and for remembering him, asserting that he has not forgotten anything "of the charming woman, the artist" with whom he would have "wanted so much to entrust the role of Phryné". Since she "does not scorn the company of an old bearded man" like him, Saint-Saëns promises that he will contact her once he has more time. - Finally, an undated letter was to inform the recipient, probably a young singer, that Saint-Saëns did not approve of the plan of a "Marquise whom all of Paris knows" to have her play in a comedy in his style: "Une marquise que tout Paris connaît m'écrit qu'elle vous a parlé de vous faire jouer dans son salon une comédie de ma façon ; l'a-t-elle fait ou a -t-elle en seulement l'intention de la faire, je ne sais, mais je tiens à ce que vous sachiez que je ne suis pas bien dans une telle démarche". - The letter from Cairo on mourning paper. The letter from 1913 with embossed letterhead "Rue de Courcelles, 83bis". Occasional browning and minimally stained; the letter from Cairo with deep tears to the folds, partly affecting the text. The letter dated 16 August 1982 with two holes partly affecting the text and traces of former mounting.
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Satie, Erik, French composer (1866-1925).
Autograph lettercard signed (address field) and monogrammed "ES". Arcueil, 16. VI. 1924.
12mo. 1 p. With autograph address. In French. Beautiful pneumatic letter to the conductor Roger Désormière written two days after the scandalous premiere of the ballet Mercure with instructions for the third performance. Satie asks Désormière to return to the original version of the premiere "without the repetitions of the music while waiting for the sets", as he is "the one who pays the price for this waiting time" because "many people believe" that Satie's "music is the cause of these false intermissions - & and they 'fulminate', the very good people". He even concedes to his vocal critics: "Yes... They are right, in fact". In a charming postscriptum, Satie thanks Désormière and congratulates him on the last night's performance: "Thank you for your dedication. You are a 'chic guy' ... Very successful last night!" (transl.). - With Satie's music, stage and costume design by Pablo Picasso, and a choreography by Léonide Massine who would also dance the principal role, Mercure was supposed to be the much-needed hit for Étienne de Beaumont's ballet company Soirées de Paris. However, the premiere provoked a theatrical scandal, as different cultural factions of the Parisian avantgarde clashed in the audience. Most notoriously, the Surrealists led by André Breton and Louis Aragon tried to win over Picasso and took aim at Satie for having criticized Breton's attempt to overthrow Tzara as leader of the Dadaists. The ballet had scarcely begun when the Surrealists started chanting "Bravo Picasso! Down with Satie!" from the back of the theatre. Darius Milhaud began to argue with the Breton group, Satie fans voiced their support, and a handful of people approached Picasso's box, hurling insults at him. Police were called to restore order before the performance could continue. While the following five performances of Mercure passed without incident, the reception of the ballet and particularly of Satie's music was cold and would have a lasting negative effect on his posthumous reputation. Mercure is the least known of Satie's three ballets and little performed, even if the music has been revaluated since the scandalous premiere. - Roger Désormière (1898-1963) joined the Ballets Russes as principal conductor in 1925. He kept Satie's ballet music in his repertoire. - Traces of folds and somewhat creased. Correspondance presque complète, no. 1114.
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Smart, George Thomas, musician, the Queen's organist (1776-1867).
Autograph postcard (fragment) signed. No place or date.
Oblong 12mo. 1 page (4 lines). With autograph address. Mounted on backing paper. To his niece, the musician Miss Harriet Anne Smart in Knightsbridge. - Smart was appointed organist at the Chapel Royal in 1822; he was personally acquainted with Beethoven. During a visit to Smart's house in 1826 his close friend Carl Maria von Weber died there in his sleep. - With traces of old mounting and collector's note to backing paper.
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Stockhausen, Julius, Sänger und Dirigent (1826-1906).
1 eigenh. Brief mit U. "Ton Giulio vecchio" und 1 eigenh. Briefkarte mit Monogramm. Frankfurt a. M., 21. X. 1886 u. 18. XII. 1900.
Zusammen 5 SS. 8vo und qu.-12mo (115:90 mm). Im Brief vom 21. Oktober 1886 kündigt Stockhausen einem engen Freund namens François, wohl aus Stockhausens Zeit an der komischen Oper in Paris, die Zuschrift seiner Publikation "Julius Stockhausen's Gesangstechnik und Stimmbildung" (Leipzig: Peters, 1886) an und bittet um Anmerkungen für die in wenigen Wochen erscheinende Neuauflage: "Dans peu de semaines il doit paraître une nouvelle édition dans la même forme, de sorte qu'on pourra ajouter ou retrancher ce qui est superflu et ce qui manque. Peux tu nous aider un peu?" Er berichtet vom Erfolg seiner 1880 gegründeten Gesangsschule in Frankfurt ("L'école marche à souhaits. J'ai tant d'élèves que je puis faire un choix") und von Proben mit dem Frankfurter Cäcilienchor für eine Aufführung von Beethovens Missa solemnis. Die letzten Zeilen sind Nachrichten von Freunden und Familie gewidmet. - Die Briefkarte vom 18. Dezember 1900 ist an eine Cousine Stockhausens gerichtet, deren Name, wohl Anna, durch ein spielerisches Noten-Kryptogramm angedeutet wird. Stockhausen erkundigt sich über einen Freund und entrichtet Weihnachtsgrüße: "Ich danke dir sehr für deinen ausführlichen Brief. Meiner muss kurz seyn. Schicke mir bitte ein Wort über Nahm. Ist er in Carlsruhe oder in Freiburg wo er sich niederlassen wollte? Für dich einen herzlichen Weihnachtsgruss von deinem alten Vetter". - Die Briefkarte mit lithogr. Briefkopf. Wohlerhalten.
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Sullivan, Sir Arthur S., composer (1842-1900).
Autograph letter signed. [London] "Albert Mansions", no date.
8vo. 1 page. Mounted on backing paper. To the composer and conductor Alfred Cellier, requesting a meeting: "Can you manage to call upon me anytime tomorrow after 5 p.m. I want to speak to you. If you like, you will find dinner at 6.30 [...]". - Cellier had written some of the overtures to the famous operas created by Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert; he conducted and directed many of these original productions. - With collector's note to backing paper and slight staining due to seeped glue.
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Thalberg, Sigismond, Austrian pianist and composer (1812-1871).
Autograph letter signed. St. Louis, 17. III. 1858.
12mo (90 x 110 mm). 4 pp. To Lucietto, a son or son-in-law of Sigismond Thalberg's late father-in-law Luigi Lablache, thanking him dearly for what he did, probably with respect to Luigi's estate, introducing a young woman, and sending greetings to two families: "Toujours j'ai cru fermement à votre amitié, mais cependant je ne me doutais pas jusqu'où pouvait aller votre dévouement pour nous ; aussi croyez-moi bien que tout ce que vous avez fait pour ce pauvre père et pour ma femme restera éternellement gravé dans mon cœur. Vous avez agi en fils et en frère et rien ne pourra jamais altérer l'amitié et la reconnaissance que je vous porte. Dieu vous bénira car vous êtes bon ! [...]". - Sigismond Thalberg was on a very successful tour of the U.S. when his father-in-law, the famous bass Luigi Lablache (1794-1858), died. In June 1858 his wife Francesca joined Sigismond, and together they returned to Europe, retiring, except for a final tour in 1862/63, to Naples. - With collector's mark in red ink.
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Tosti, Francesco Paolo, Italian composer and educator (1846-1916).
2 autograph letters signed. London, 9 Feb. 1908 and n. d.
8vo. Together 7 pp. on bifolia. With 1 autograph envelope. The charming dated letter to an unnamed friend was to congratulate him on his wife and to introduce a singer named Violet Clarke: "D'abord toutes mes chaleureuses félicitations pour la belle et aimable femme, que j'espère avoir le plaisir d'entendre un de ces jours. Voici une charmante amie à moir, Miss Violet Clarke. Elle chante bien et a une jolie voix. Met toi à ses ordres. Tâche de lui être utile, et ton vieux copain te sera reconnaisant [!]". - The second letter to a Miss Edwards, according to the envelope, is a curious mix of French and Italian. Tosti apologizes for having to move an appointment due to rehearsals for a concert with the famous soprano Emma Nevada, her daughter Mignon Nevada, and other artists, complaining of his bad luck: "Absolumment je n'ai pas de chance ! L'uomo propone e la donna dispone ; dice il proverbio ! Io invece accomodo a mio modo il il proverbio, in questo caso, e dico : Un povero Maestro si propone di passare un agréable après-midi, e le stelle artiste dispongono il contrario. reve. Devo domani nell'après-midi fare una ripetizione (per un Concerto da Lady Scott di Martedi sera) con l'Albani [Emma Albani] con Nevada con De Loria [?] e con Nevada [...]". If the rehearsals were to take place in his house, he would have invited her to assist, but as they were not, Tosti asks the recipient to visit him some other day, also sending greetings to a Miss Nox. - Largely forgotten today, Tosti was the most popular composer of songs in England around the turn of the century and a highly respected musician. Having already gained a good reputation at the court in Rome, Tosti migrated to London in 1875 and was appointed singing master to the Royal family in 1880. By 1885 his songs were extremely popular in Victorian England and he received staggering fees from his publishers. Tosti was appointed professor at the Royal Academy of Music in 1894 and was knighted by his friend King Edward VII in 1908. - On stationery with embossed letterhead "2. Mandeville Place W." Traces of folds. The letter to Miss Edwards with traces of former mounting.
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Vaughan Williams, Ralph, composer (1872-1958).
Autograph letter signed. Dorking, 27 Sept. [1937].
4to. 1 page. To the musician Frederick Allan Wilshire (1868-1944) with thanks for an invitation, but politely having to decline it: "Thank you very much for Your kind invitation. But I fear it is doubtful if I can come to Bristol even for the performance [...] November is a very busy month for me I am so sorry [...]". - From the 1930s until the early 1950s Vaughan Williams lived in Dorking and was an initiator of the "Dorking and District Refugee Committee", providing music for the Abinger Pageant to raise funds for Abinger church. He facilitated the entire community, rich or poor, to access the highest quality music. - With embossed letterhead.
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Weill, Kurt, composer (1900-1950).
Autograph letter signed. Berlin, 25. XII. 1924.
Small 4to. 3 pages on bifolium. To the French musicologist Henry Prunières. Weill is happy to hear that his first quartet was performed at the concerts of the Revue Musicale: "Je suis heureux, Monsieur, de pouvoir vous exprimer la joie profonde que m'avait causé cet hommage rendu à mon œuvre. Mon éditeur, l'Universal- Edition, m'a fait part de votre intention de faire jouer mes sept mélodies Frauentanz. Je suis flatté de l'intérêt que vous portez à mon ouvrage [...]".
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Barret, Wilson, manager, actor, and playwright (1846-1904).
Autograph letter signed. [Postmarked: London], 30. VI. 1886.
Oblong 8vo. 1 page (4 lines). With autograph envelope. To the musician Frederick Allan Wilshire (1868-1944) in Bristol with a quotation: "'Would I were young forever' / 'Claudian' [...]". - In 1881, Wilson Barrett took over the recently refurbished Princess's Theatre, where his melodramatic productions enjoyed great success. He stayed there until 1886, when he made a visit to America. The quoted stage play "Claudian", written by Henry Herman and W. G. Wills, was Barret Wilsons first Roman costume play. - On stationery with embossed letterhead of the "Royal Princess's Theatre". Signature slightly waterstained.
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Cisserant, Hippolyte, French actor (1809-1877).
6 autograph letters signed. Paris, 1854-1865.
8vo and 12mo. Together 7½ pp. Three shorter letters in the collection are of a practical nature, asking for or granting theatre tickets. In a letter from 4 May 1858 to the "Association des artistes dramatiques", Cisserant announces his resignation from the committee of the association because of an accident and lack of time. - On 14 July 1862, Cisserant informed a friend that the Odéon cannot hire a Mademoiselle Blainville even though he was impressed by her: "J'ai vue et entendue Mlle Blainville. Je lui trouve des qualités ; elle a du naturel, elle est jolie femme, enfin, j'ai d'elle une bonne opinion!... mais... il n'y a pas de place!". - Finally, Cisserant wrote a charming letter to the famous comic actor and close friend Jean-Marie Joseph Geoffroy, known as Geoffroy. The letter is remarkable, as Geoffroy famously avoided socializing with his colleagues and was decried a misanthrope. However, Cisserant addressed Geoffroy as "Mon Bon Jojo" and writes with great humour about his leg injury that prevented him from meeting Geoffroy. The letter can be dated with respect to the death of Geoffroy's wife Louisa Kersent in 1864, as Cisserant sends greetings her. - Hippolyte Cisserant was a comic actor at the Théâtre du Gymnase and at the Odéon. - The letter from 14 July 1862 on stationery with lithographed letterhead of the Odéon theatre. A letter from 14 September 1854 with embossed monogram. The letter to the "Association des artistes dramatiques" with recipient's note and traces of a collection label. Well preserved.
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David, A., French actor (fl. 1st half of the 19th century).
2 autograph letters signed. N. p. o. d.
8vo. Together 1¾ pp. on bifolia. With autograph addresses. A letter to a M. Laurent suggests that David played at the Comédie-Française for some time, as it is written on stationery of the theatre. In the letter, he asks Laurent to visit him the following day. - The second letter is addressed to the important director Anténor Joly (1799-1852) at the Théâtre Ventadour. David reminds Joly of his promise to "occupy himself with my return to the theatre" and remarks bitterly that "with a bit of kindness and goodwill and, above all, the oblivion of an old grudge" Joly could already have placed him in several performances: "Je crois qu'il est nécessaire que je rappelle a Monsieur Anténor que je suis encore de ce monde et qu'il m'a fait une promesse, celle de s'occuper de ma rentrée au théâtre. Avec un peu de bienveillance et de bon vouloir et surtou l'oublie d'une vielle rancune il aurait certes déjà pu me placer dans une des nombreuses pièces en répétition [...]". - Traces of folds and seal. The letter to Joly with embossed monogram, several tears and stronger browning to the address leaf.
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Ernest, Paul, French actor (fl. 1855).
2 autograph letters signed. Paris and n. p., 23 Nov. and 23 Feb. 1855.
8vo. Together 2½ pp. on bifolia. One letter with autograph address and traces of seal. The letter from 23 February 1855 is addressed to a M. Désir at the Théâtre des Variétés, asking him for two tickets. - In the second letter, dated 23 November with no year, Paul Ernest asks a recipient named Eugène to contact a third person who had offered a job at the theatre to Ernest's cousin: "Je vous serais bien reconnaissant de vous informer auprès de Mr Lannau si la petite place de son contrôle est touours libre et si dans ce cas, il serait toujours possible disposé `la donner a Mr Weber un cousin à moi et un brave graçon qui a déjà été dans le théâtre comme inspecteur [...]". - Paul Ernest is only known in connection with the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris, which he directed sometime between 1842 and 1851. - The letter from 23 November on stationery with stamped letterhead "Cercle de Paris". Both letters with bent corners; some browning.
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Lemoine, Adolphe, known as Lemoine-Montigny, French playwright and comedian (1812-1880).
3 autograph letters signed. With a signed note by Alfred Nettement. Paris, 1851-1853.
8vo. Together 3 pp. on bifolia. The note by Alfred Nettement: 1 p. The most curious item in the collection is a letter from 12 July 1851 to the author and journalist Alfred Nettement, who forwarded it to a friend with a signed note of his own. Lemoine politely criticizes a dramatic proverb that Nettement had sent him on behalf of a friend, arguing that it was well written but "would lack effect" on stage. He encourages the author to pusue different subjects for plays and to seek success in the theatre, as he possesses rare qualities: "Je crois cependant qu l'auteur de ce petit ouvrage doit chercher le succès de théâtre. Il a plusieurs qualités qu'on ne rencontre pas toujours, même chez ceux qui réussissent. Il devra réussir, le jour où il sera plus heureux dans le choix du sujet, ainsi que plus sévère et plus complex dans l'étude et la disposition de son plan [...]". Nettement sent the letter to the unidentified author with a similarly encouraging note: "Voici la lettre que je reçois de Lemoine et je la trouve fondée. Je sais que vous deviez travailler pour le théâtre. S'il le dit, c'est qu'il le pense, vous deviez faire très sérieusement une pièce [...]". - On 24 July, Lemoine wrote to a fellow playwright, addressed as "Mon Cher Chef", asking him whether they could change the title of a comedy that was to be performed at the Gymnase two days later from "Chiffons de Madame" to "Toilette de chat". - In a letter dated "Samedi 22" (no year), Lemoine seeks to change tickets for a new play by Émile Augier that had been promised to him by the playwright from one day to another: "Augier me fait dire, en son nom et au votre, que deux fauteuils de Galerie sont à ma disposition pour ce soir, outre son place d'orchestre. Si vous pouvez sans vous gêner, en garderant les deux Galerie pour votre service d'aujourdhui, me donner pour lundi une petite loge, Mme Montigny remettra à la seconde représentation le plaisir d'applaudir le nouvel ouvrage de notre ami Augier [...]". The recipient who is addressed as "mon confrère" was probably the director of the theatre. - Lemoine-Montigny is best known today as a theatre director, having directed the Théâtre de la Gaîté from 1838 to 1844 and the Gymnase from 1844 to his death. - All letters on stationery with embossed or lithographed letterhead of the Théâtre du Gymnase. Traces of folds. Some foxing and browning overall. Occasional minor tears.
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Montalant, Denis-Stanislas, known as Talbot, French actor (1824-1904).
7 autograph letters signed. N. p. o. d.
8vo. Together 6 pp. Correspondence with Alfred de Beauchesne (1804-74), secretary at the Paris Conservatory. The collection includes two letters of introduction for young applicants for the declamation classes at the conservatory, a request for two tickets for a performance, and a letter wherein Talbot asks Beauchesne to pass on two letters, an unspecified response with the remark that "it is, however necessary to see" the actors Jules Boucher, Suzanne Reichenberg, and an unidentified third person. In the longest letter of the collection, Talbot asks Beauchesne to give him the names and addresses of those candidates who did not pass the entrance examination. Apparently, he offered preparatory acting classes. Two letters are dated to 1861 by a collector's hand. This would indicate that Talbot was very active as a teacher well before he left the Comédie-Française in 1873 to start an acting school at the théâtre de la Tour d'Auvergne. - Traces of folds and some browning overall. A letter starting "Je vous serai bien obligé de faire inscrire le petit note ci-contre" somewhat faded.
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Perlet, Adrien, French actor (1795-1850).
3 autograph letters signed. N. p. , 1828-1838.
8vo. 3½ pp. on bifolia. Two letters with autograph addresses. The earliest letter in the collection, dated 16 Mai 1828, was probably written in London to a Frederic le George. Perlet wishes the recipient a swift recovery from an ailment, reports that his son has a fever following a "change of season", and announces that he mailed theatre tickets to him, complaining that he could not send his French servant who still does not remember the way to the theatre although he showed it to him "twenty times". - On 14 November 1834, Perlet announced to a Parisian lawyer named Garot a payment of 4,000 francs for the following day. - The third letter from 8 November 1838 was written to an unnamed mayor in support of "the candidacy" a friend named Colson. A failed enterprise in Nantes is mentioned, although the relation to Colson and the recipient remains unclear. - The comic actor Adrien Perlet performed at the Comédie-Française, the Gymnase, and in London. - Traces of folds and seal. The letter from 1828 with a trimmed corner to the address leaf. Minimal foxing to the letter from 1838.
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[Oceanography. - Guilcher, André].
Collection of correspondence, briefings, photographs and maps for the exploration of the seas. Paris, Brussels, Leicester, Rennes, Wormley (Surrey), Brest, Nancy, 1951-1961.
40 letters (of which 26 autographs signed; 2 MS. letters; 8 MS. letters signed; 3 MS. letters with autograph corrections or autograph additions and 1 MS. telegram) and 3 MS. documents (of which 1 with MS. inscription and autograph corrections and autograph notes). 4to. and (qu.-)8vo. altogether ca. 65 pp. on 55 ff. Enclosed 2 maps in folio (route map, ca. 430 x 530 mm; and geological map, ca. 385 x 510 mm) and 14 black-and-white photographs of in formats (94 x 119 to 138 x 180 mm). Mostly in French, occasionally English. With supplemental material (see description). The central element of the collection is the organisation, research and scientific interest devoted to the expeditions of the "Calpyso" of the ocean explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-97) to the Red Sea and Madagascar, and to the expeditions of the "Président Théodore Tissier" under Captain Roger Brenot (1916-98) to the Porcupine Bank in the Celtic Sea. The letters are addressed predominantly to the geographer André Guilcher (1913-93) and give evidence of the scholarly exchange within the contemporary French research community, including the geophysicist Jean Coulomb (1904-99), the underwater pioneer Philippe Talliez (1905-2002), the marine biologist Louis Fage (1883-1964), the geologist Jean Furnestin (1905-90), the geographer André Cailleux (1907-86), the volcanologist Tazieff Haroun (1914-98), and some British scientists (A. Robinson, J. N. Carruthers). - The collection includes two letters from Jacques-Yves Cousteau and six letters from his father Daniel P. Cousteau, who replied to Guilcher in his son's absence in the early 1950s. Jean Coulomb mentions a rumour about difficulties in financing Cousteau's expedition (25 Aug. 1951) and writes about problems obtaining measuring equipment. - In the twelve letters of a certain Berthier to Guilcher, the preparations for the Porcupine expedition of 1957 are discussed, with detailed remarks by Berthier on a theory of the formation of submarine rock deposits. In the letters of Captain Roger Brenot concerning the same voyage, he first welcomes Guilcher to join the expedition (11 Feb.), later withdrawing the invitation (22 Feb.), as only those called upon by the "Ministère de la Marine Marchande" are allowed on board. In another letter, Brenot comments on photographs sent to him, which might not be as useful scientifically as they are for remembrance (21 March). - The enclosed photographs show coral reefs in seven underwater shots, one shot with swirls of the sea surface above La Chapelle Bank (Celtic Sea), according to the enclosed note from 1958, four shots of a barren landscape with mountains and flocks of sheep, and another shot with a pair of sunglasses on a rock formation. A map shows the route of the "N. O. President Th. Tissier", the other map details submarine rock sites. Both of these are spirit duplicated and concern the Celtic Sea. - Six letters with printed letterhead of the "Institut de Physique du Globe", University of Paris, three letters from the "Campagnes océanographiques françaises", four from the "Institut scientifique et technique des peches maritimes", one letter with letterhead of the "National Institute of Oceanography" (Wormley, Surrey), another from the "Department of Geography, University College" (Leicester), one letter from the "Expédition polaires Francaises" and the stamp "Expédition Arctique", twelve letters with the printed letterhead of the "École Nationale d'Agriculture de Rennes", one of which also has the stamp "Laboratoire de Lithologie-Pédologie-Hydrogéologie", and one letter from the "Institut océanographique" (Paris). - Also enclosed is the illustrated book "Calypso Cousteau / Sivirine" (Édition Robert Laffont, [1978] 1998) with numerous photographs and colour illustrations, as well as a large folding plate on the conversions, equipment and expeditions of the "Calypso" and a postcard and a form for the library correspondence of Guilcher. Occasional light foxing and brown stains, with traces of rust from old paper clips, occasional minor marginal tears, one letter J.-Y. Cousteau with stronger marginal tears. Listing on request.
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[Thost, Ernst, Meteorologe und Astronom (1899-1980)].
Splitternachlass mit 174 Briefen, Karten u. a. von verschiedenen Verfassern sowie einem Brief Albert Einsteins. Verschiedene Orte, 1923-1980.
Zusammen 225 SS. auf 166 Bll. Verschiedene Formate. Mit zahlreichen Beilagen (Eintrittskarten, Prospekte, Zeitungsausschnitte u. dgl.). Ernst Thost, der Sohn des Malers Rudolf Thost und Vater des Schauspielers Bruno Thost, studierte u. a. bei Erich Wunderlich an der TH Hannover und promovierte 1928 über "Das Klima des nördlichen Württemberg" (Stuttgart, Fleischhauer & Spohn, 1930). Sein ganzes Berufsleben verbrachte Thost als Mitarbeiter der Schwäbischen Sternwarte in Stuttgart, die am 8. Januar 1922 nach einjähriger Bauzeit eingeweiht worden war, und trat 1964 in den Ruhestand. Der vorliegende Splitternachlass enthält überwiegend Korrespondenzen mit verschiedenen Naturwissenschaftlern, darunter als prominentestem Albert Einstein, den Thost im Herbst 1922 wohl in Fragen der Lehrplangestaltung angeschrieben hatte und der ihm unterm 25. V. 1923 antwortete: "Ich bin der Meinung, dass unsere Schulpläne schon all zu sehr materiell überlastet sind, man sollte den Pflichtstoff so viel als möglich verringern, und den [!] Lehrer darüber volle Freiheit lassen, was er ausserdem mit den Schülern betreiben will. Hat so der Lehrer genügend Muse [!], so kann er, wenn es seiner Meinung entspricht, wohl auch den Grundgedanken der Relativitäts-Theorie behandeln natürlich nur in so weit als es ohne Vermehrung des mathematischen Apparates möglich ist". Viele Jahre später hielt Thost noch in einem Gedächtnisprotokoll fest, was ihm bei einem Besuch Einsteins im November 1925 erinnerlich war (1½ SS., um 1950). - Zu den anderen Wissenschaftlern, mit denen Thost korrespondierte und die hier teils mehrfach vertreten sind, zählen u. a. Rudolf Benkendorff, Manfred Bräuhäuser, Heinrich von Ficker, Hugh Ivan Gramatzki, Georg Grimm, Theodor Haering, Sven Hedin, August Kopff, Joseph Plassmann, Adolf Sauer, Karl Schneider-Carius, Albert Schweitzer, Diederich Wattenberg, Kurt Wegener, Max Wolf, Erich Wunderlich, Carl und Hermann Wurster sowie Gustav von Zahn. Weitere Schriftstücke stammen von Malern, Musikern, Schauspielern und Schriftstellern wie Ludwig Anschütz, Peter Bamm, Theodor Esser, Otto Flath, Kai Möller, Asta Nielsen, Willy Reichert, Andrés Segovia und Paul Wegener sowie von zwei Bundespräsidenten, nämlich Theodor Heuss und Heinrich Lübke. - Sehr umfangreich ist die Korrespondenz mit "Elisabeth Wegener V.", wie Wegeners fünfte Gattin und auch Witwe, die Schauspielerin Elisabeth Wegener (geb. Rohwer, 1903-89), gern unterzeichnet: Von ihr finden sich hier 36 Briefe und Karten aus den Jahren 1948 bis 1976, in denen sie so manches über das Leben ihres verstorbenen Gatten Paul, das Theater der Nachkriegsjahre und die Beschwerlichkeiten eines Lebens ohne Pensionsanspruch zu berichten weiß. - Der Brief Einsteins in recht desolatem Zustand (mehrfach mit Klebestreifen auf Trägerpapier montiert), die übrigen Schriftstücke in überwiegend gutem, wenn auch häufig montiertem und arrangiertem Zustand mit zahlreichen Randglossen aus der Hand Thosts.
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Dufy, Jean, painter (1888-1964).
Autograph letter signed. Limoges, no date.
4to. 1 p. To the actor Léon Mathot with thanks for his swift response. Dufy will be picked up by Madame Dufy and her friends by car and return to Paris. He has some difficulties with insisting on the prices set for his work, but he remains unperturbed because his exhibition had enjoyed such success. The time away from painting has done him good, and he will return to it with renewed vigour: "Merci mille fois d'avoir été si prompt à m'envoyer ta réponse. Je rentrerai Jeudi avec Madame Dufy qui vient avec des amis en auto de Paris. Pour mon exposition, J'ai en beaucoup de peine à imposer les prix mais je tiens bon car cela a plu beaucoup; je pense n'avoir pas perdu mon temps. Et puis ce là me fait beaucoup de bien de ne pas toucher aux pinceaux; je vais m'y remettre en rentrant avec beaucoup d'ardeur [...]". - With printed letterhead of the "Grand Café Riche". Left margin reinforced with paper; slight ink offsetting.
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Ernst, Max, painter (1891-1976).
Autograph letter signed twice ("Max Ernst"). Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche, "Mercredi" [1939/1940].
4to. 2 pp. Highly interesting letter to the collector and critic Christian Zervos, asserting that Ernst will not emigrate to the U.S., probably following his brief internment in France as an "undesirable foreigner" at the beginning of World War II. Ernst thanks Zervos for forwarding a letter from his son Jimmy and for some issues of the Cahiers d'Art, before inviting him and his wife Yvonne Marion to his house in Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche for the summer. Emigration to the U.S. was already on the table, but Ernst writes that he has "no desire to leave" his house and therefore "will not go to live in America", preferring to "live and work" in France. In the second part of the letter, Ernst expresses his relief concerning the date of a coming exhibition in Zervos's art gallery MAI, as he much prefers "waiting until the fall" so as to "prepare a very beautiful exhibition in all tranquility". - The letter must have been written sometime between his release from French internment in Camp de Gurs around Christmas 1939 and the beginning of the German invasion of France. Soon into the German occupation, Ernst was arrested by the Gestapo but managed to escape. This time he would not return to his house in Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche, which his partner Leonora Carrington had "sold" to a neighbour for a bottle of cognac to save it from confiscation before fleeing herself. In this dangerous situation, Ernst accepted Peggy Guggenheim's offer to accompany her to New York. Jimmy Ernst had tried to secure U.S. visas for Max Ernst and his mother Luise Straus when they were interned in Gurs, but Straus would have had to marry Ernst, which she refused to do. While Max Ernst obtained his visa in 1941, Luise Straus remained in France. She was deported to Auschwitz and murdered in 1944. - Traces of folds. Minor browning and three minimal tears to the upper margin.
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Ernst, Max, Maler (1891-1976).
"Autophoto". Eigenh. Manuskript und eh. Brief mit U. "Max". Seillans, 1968 [Poststempel].
Zusammen 1¼ SS. und 1 Skizze auf 3 Bll. 4to. Mit eh. adressiertem Umschlag und einem Manuskript des Übersetzers Robert Valençay. Korrektur der französischen Übersetzung eines dadaistischen Selbstzeugnisses des Künstlers für die Schriftenausgabe "Écritures" (Paris, Gallimard, 1970), das ursprünglich 1921 unter dem Titel "Max Ernst" in der Zeitschrift "Das Junge Rheinland" erschienen war. Der Brief an den Übersetzer Robert Valançay ist unmittelbar der Übersetzung angefügt, die dieser Ernst übermittelt hatte. Ernst berichtet, dass er die Übersetzung nach der Rückkehr aus Italien, wo er sich "im Schlamm gewälzt hat", vorfand, und befindet diese als "nicht so schlecht" (Übs.); er habe sich aber "ein paar kleine Änderungen erlaubt". Diese neue Version ist in Ernsts Hand auf einem separaten Blatt beigefügt. Auf einem dritten Blatt mit Anmerkungen Valençays zu dessen Übersetzung hat Ernst eine Skizze des Sternbilds Großer Bär angefertigt, in der die Sterne Alkor und Mizar benannt sind, die im Text Erwähnung finden. - Das "Selbstbildnis" erweckt zunächst den Anschein eines prahlerischen autobiographischen Texts, der jedoch bald durch dadaistische Elemente ad absurdum geführt wird. So verleiht sich Ernst den Spitznamen "Spitzer Hahnenfuß" und behauptet, dass er mit 12 Jahren das Elternhaus verlassen habe, "um den halbwüchsigen Eisenbahnen und den wichtigsten Seezungen nachzujagen". Der Text ist ein dadaistisches Kunstwerk eigenen Rechts, und Ernst nutzt seine Korrekturen der Übersetzung Valençays für weitere Variationen des Absurden. - Zwei Sätze, die als Beschreibung seiner künstlerischen Praxis von großem Interesse sind, durchlaufen besonders spannende Transformationen. Der deutsche Text "Seine Farbgebung ist manchmal durchlocht und manchmal röhrenförmig" wurde von Valençay möglichst verständlich mit "Son coloris est parfois percé de trous et parfois en forme de tuyaux" übersetzt. Ernsts Korrektur ist auf den ersten Blick originalgetreuer, doch dürfte es ihm vor allem an der Alliteration gelegen sein: "Son coloris est parfois perforé, parfois tubulaire." Besondere Schwierigkeit bereitete Valençay der Folgesatz: "Seine Stoffausscheidung ist voller Pflanzen und Tierreste", den er mit "Le matériau qu'il secrète est plein de plantes et de restes d'animaux" übersetzte und mit einer Anmerkung versah. Ernst wirft in seiner Überarbeitung jedoch die "Stoffausscheidungen" über den Haufen und ersetzt sie durch "concrétions". Diese Änderungen können als ironische Anspielung auf die Konkrete Kunst interpretiert werden, die Max Ernsts künstlerischer Praxis denkbar fern stand. Beim Satz "Das Weib ist ihm ein mit weißem Marmor belegtes Brötchen" wurde Ernsts Überarbeitung "Pour lui, la femme est un sandwich en marbre blanc" nicht für die französische Publikation des Textes übernommen, sondern Valençays wörtliche Übersetzung beibehalten. Erwähnenswert ist auch Ernsts Beharren auf der fehlerhaften Schreibweise "Aktor" (dt. im Original) bzw. "Actor" (Überarbeitung) statt des richtigen "Alcor" in Valençays Übersetzung. Als abschließendes Beispiel für Ernsts kreative Überarbeitung sei der letzte Satz genannt: Robert Valençay übersetzt das Original "Sein Wendekreis ist Blütenraub" mit "Son tropique est un pillage d'arbres en fleur", woraus bei Ernst der poetische Satz "Son tropique est le rapt du cérisiér fleuri" wird. - Wohlerhalten. Publiziert in: Max Ernst, Écritures (Paris, Gallimard, 1970), S. 7 f.; deutsches Original in: Das junge Rheinland, Heft 2, Düsseldorf, 2.11.1921.
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Luce, Maximilien, French painter (1858-1941).
Autograph letter signed ("Luce"). Paris, "Jeudi", n. y.
8vo. 1 p. in pencil. To a Madame Jose, concerning the sale of works by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec: "J’ai bien reçu votre lettre. Vous avez raison, il faut mieux attendre Octobre car en ce moment toutes les galeries sont fermées. Donc à cette époque vous me ferez remettre les Lautrec et je m’en occuperai". - Some browning.
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Monet, Claude, French painter (1840-1926).
Autograph letter signed. Giverny, 10. III. 1891.
8vo. 1½ p. on bifolium. With autograph envelope. To his friend, the journalist and critic Gustave Geoffroy, confirming a meeting in the offices of La Justice and asking him to talk to Georges Clemenceau beforehand, concerning a possible prolongation of a pause of the military service of his eldest son Jean: "J'ai votre lettre et vous confirme ma venue pour jeudi entre 6 et 6½ à la justice, mais je voudrais-bien que vous puissiez parler avant cela à Clemenceau pour l'affaire de mon fils. Il n'est que temps d'agir et parlez dans le sens que je vous ai dit. L'enfant, comme dit Clemenceau, se trouve très bien en sa nouvelle situation chez mon frère qui souhaite bien pouvoir le garder avec lui. Dites bien, vous, à Clemenceau de faire tout son possible pour cela". - Jean Monet (1867-1914) started working as a chemist in the dye company of his uncle Léon Monet in Rouen in 1891, when his military service was not yet completed but paused. George Clemenceau, then member of the Chamber of Deputies and a great admirer of Claude Monet's art, had already helped to prolong Jean's pause selveral times. However, on 1 April 1891, Monet informed Geoffroy that Jean had left them to complete his military service, following a medical examination in Rouen. He resumed his position as a chemist in Léon Monet's factory in 1892. Georges Clemenceau and Claude Monet would become intimate friends a few years later. - Traces of folds. Published in: Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet. Biographie et catalogue raisonné 5 (Lausanne, 1991), 2807 (1100b).
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"Che" Guevara [i.e. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna], Marxist revolutionary, major figure of the Cuban Revolution (1928-1967).
Typed letter signed ("Che"). Havana, 25 August 1960, "Year of the Agrarian Reform".
4to. ¾ p. In his office as president of the National Bank of Cuba, to Samuel G. Breidner of the New York real estate company Cross & Brown: "I refer to your letter of August first and regret to inform you that our Bank is not interested in real estate investments". - Following the resignation of the economist Felipe Pazos, Che Guevara served as president of the National Bank from 26 November 1959 to 23 February 1961. The unspecified offer by Cross & Brown slightly predates the US embargo that was imposed on 19 October 1960 and was further extended in February 1962. Guevara was appointed Minister of Industries in February 1961, which he remained until his departure from Cuba in 1965. - On stationery with embossed and printed letterhead "El presidente del Banco nacional de Cuba". Traces of folds and gently creased.
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Elisabeth ("Sisi"), Kaiserin von Österreich (1837-1898).
Eigenh. Telegramm mit U. "Elisabeth". [Schweiz, zwischen 1890 und 1897].
Qu.-8vo. 4 Zeilen in Tinte auf lithogr. Telegramm. Schönes Glückwunschschreiben an ihre jüngste Tochter Marie Valerie: "I. k. k. H. Erzherzogin Valerie, Wels. In Gedanken und Wünschen bei Dir". - Marie Valerie von Österreich (1868-1924) und ihr Ehemann Franz Salvator von Österreich-Toskana (1866-1939) wohnten von 1890 bis 1897 auf Schloss Lichtenegg in Wels. Es kann spekuliert werden, dass Elisabeth ihrer Tochter anlässlich der Geburt eines der vier Kinder telegraphierte, die zwischen 1892 und 1896 geboren worden sind. Das Telegramm stammt zweifellos aus der französischen Schweiz. - Wohlerhalten.
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Fuller-Acland-Hood, Alexander, 2nd Baron St Audries, peer (1893-1971).
Autograph letter signed. Stogursey, Bridgwater, 31. III. 1940.
4to. 1¼ pp. To the musician Frederick Allan Wilshire (1868-1944) about a concert the previous evening, and on his brother's current life: "Thank you so much for your letter. I was after all unable to attend the concert at Bridgwater this evening but I am sure you will have had a crowded house and an appreciative audience. I have gladly sent a contribution to the proceeds. I have often heard my brother speak of you. He is now very busy with his new military duties and fairly happy, I believe, though it is rather sad for him to be so much separated from his wife so soon after their marriage. He hopes to obtain a commission soon [...]". - With embossed letterhead.
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Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand, leader of India during the Indian independence movement (1869-1948).
Autograph letter signed ("Bapu"). N. p., 18. VIII. 1940.
8vo. ½ p. In Gujarati, to his friend Behram Navroji Khambatta, added as a postcript to a letter by his secretary Mahadev Desai to the same addressee: "I am glad you wrote. I was wondering why there was no letter from you. Endure the ulcer cheerfully as gift from God [...]" (transl.). - Stamped "7561" and marked in pencil "CW 5036". Slightly browned and stained. Tracs of folds. The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 79 (16 July, 1940 - 27 December, 1940), no. 136.
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[Gugitz, Gustav, Wiener Heimatforscher, Volkskundler und Kulturhistoriker (1874-1964)].
Einladung an Gustav Gugitz mit eigenh. Zeichnung und U. ("G. K."). [Wien, 1947].
1 S. 8vo. Mit halbseitiger aquarellierter Tuschezeichnung. Einladung eines nicht ermittelten Verfassers an den Heimatforscher Gustav Gugitz: "Nächste 'Viennensia' Zusammenkunft / Donnerstag 29 Mai 47 / (Dr. Engel) / bei den 'Schotten' XIX. Hackhofergasse / Treffpunkt präcise 4h beim Caffee 'Zahnradbahn' / vorletzte Haltestelle des 'D' Wagens [...]". Darüber eine Illustration des Treffpunkts und eines mit Fes und Flügeln attribuierten Mannes, der sein Glas erhebt.
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Hindenburg, Paul von, Militär und Politiker (1847-1934).
Eigenhändige Sentenz mit U. O. O. u. D.
½ S. Qu.-4to (246:203 mm). Aufgezogen auf einen Bogen Pergamentpapier (ca. 330:344 mm). "Ich habe das Heldenringen meines Vaterlandes gesehen und glaube nie und nimmermehr, daß es sein Todesringen gewesen ist! [...]". Geschrieben als Beitrag für die von Friedrich Koslowsky im Berliner Eigenbrödler-Verlag herausgegebene Faksimile-Anthologie "Deutschlands Köpfe der Gegenwart über Deutschlands Zukunft" (1928). Die Anthologie ist Hindenburg gewidmet und seine Sentenz, begleitet von einem großen Portrait, allen anderen Sentenzen vorangestellt. - Paul von Hindenburg, der nach seiner ruhmreichen militärischen Reaktivierung im Zuge des ersten Weltkriegs erneut seinen Ruhestand angetreten hatte, wurde Mitte der 1920er Jahre von den konservativen Parteien gedrängt, sich als Kandidat für das Reichspräsidentenamt aufstellen zu lassen und schließlich mehrheitlich gewählt. Hindenburg bekundete trotz monarchistischer Gesinnung seine Loyalität zur der Weimarer Verfassung und fand auch im demokratischen Lager weitgehende Akzeptanz. Sein späterer zweiter Wahlsieg als Präsidentschaftskandidat für die Sozialdemokraten und die Parteien der politischen Mitte gegen Hitler bekräftigte seine Stellung in der noch jungen Republik. Darauf folgende politische Fehleinschätzungen und schließlich der Tod des Staatslenkers Hindenburg führten jedoch in kürzester Zeit zur nationalsozialistischen Diktatur. Koslowsky (10f.).
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Hitler, Adolf, German dictator (1889-1945).
Portrait postcard signed. No place, [ca. 1923].
8vo. 1 p. The knee-length portrait, taken around the year 1923, depicts Hitler in a trenchcoat. Photographed by Heinrich Hoffmann (erroneously spelled "Hofmann" at lower right), later became dictator's official photographer and a member of his inner circle.
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Horner, Francis, politician and journalist (1778-1817).
Autograph letter signed. The Temple, 25. VI. 1807.
8vo. 1¾ pp. on bifolium. Mounted on backing paper. To his friend, the advocate Thomas Thomson (1768-1852), about their annual meeting during summer holidays and a trip Horner plans to go on with the author and judge John A. Murray: "You are now thinking, I hope, of your arrangements for coming to the south in the course of the long vacation. We never seem to have any intercourse except when we meet in the flesh; and I hope while we can move, we shall contrive to hold that communication once at least every year. Gout and rheumatism will come upon us soon enough [...] There will be no difficulty in getting chambers for you: or if you prefer being more to the westward, I shall have no objection to live in Albany, where Lord Webb is so kind as to let me have the use of his set of chambers [...]". - In 1807 both Horner and Thomson were elected Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, at the proposition of John Playfair, Sir James Hall and Thomas Allan. - With collector's note to backing paper. Slightly browned due to paper and slight brownstaining.
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Kun, Béla, Hungarian Communist politician (1886-1938).
Typed letter signed ("Béla Kun"). Moscow, August 1924.
Folio. 1 p. The letterhead reads "Agitational-Propagandist Department of the E.C.C.I., Moscou" in German, French, English, and Russian. Also included is an English translation of the letter and a typed dossier on Kun in English, dated 1931. A rare letter signed by one of the most notorious early Bolshevik leaders and a proponent of international communism. Béla Kun led the brutal and short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, oversaw the massacre of tens of thousands of people when he controlled the Revolutionary Committee in Crimea in 1920, and spurred the German Communist Party into an abortive uprising in March 1921. While he lost the active support of Lenin with this last failure, Kun continued to hold a number of significant positions in Comintern throughout the 1920s. He disappeared in 1937 in the midst of Stalin's Great Purge, and was shot as a Trotskyite in 1938, following a show-trial. - In this letter, Kun orders that future copies of specific publications (he lists "Rote Fahne, S.A.Z., Kämpfer, Ruhr-Echo, Schlesische A.Z., Volkswacht Mecklenburg, Klassenkampf") be sent to the central committee of Comintern's Agitprop department for scrutiny, in order to ensure better control and management of communist publications. As Kun explains, "Die Exekutive der K.I. stellte der Agitprop-Abteilung des E.K.K.I. die Aufgabe, die gesamte kommunistische Presse eingehend zu kontrollieren [...] Wir haben deshalb beschlossen, in einer Frist von 3 Monaten die wichtigsten Parteiorgane einiger Sektionen einer eingehenden Beobachtung und Kontrolle zu unterziehen [...]". Regarding the specific publications, Kun adds, "Wir bitten Euch, uns umgehend und regelmässig je drei Exemplare dieser Zeitungen zuzusenden." He signs off "Mit kommunistischem Gruss!". - Lightly worn and creased; insignificant tears to lower edge. A vanishingly rare signature.
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Milman, Henry Hart, historian and ecclesiastic (1791-1868).
Autograph letter signed. Swanage, August 1925.
8vo. 1 page. Mounted on backing paper. On work matters: "The enclosed note relates to a MS which Mr Murray [i. e. John A. Murray, 1778-1859] enclosed for me to read - it may be forwarded at any time. What is the reason of the total discontinuance of the Horace. I have received nothing from the Printer for, I should think, a fortnight [...]". - During his brilliant university career, Milman was elected professor of poetry at Oxford, in 1827 delivered the "Bampton lectures", and in the 1940s became Dean of St Paul's. - Paper pierced in places; slight brownstaining. With collector's note to backing paper.
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Mirabeau, Honoré Gabriel Riqueti comte de, French revolutionary (1749-1791).
"Le lecteur y mettra le titre". Autograph manuscript (fragment). [Amsterdam, ca. 1777].
Small 4to. 4 pp. on bifolium. This beautiful manuscript corresponds with pages 17 (3rd paragraph) to 24 (1st line) of the 1777 publication of Mirabeau's defence of instrumental music, "Le lecteur y mettra le titre". Published anonymously and giving London as a fictitious place of printing, Mirabeau was previously identified as the author of the text based on two letters. The manuscript in Mirabeau's hand confirms his authorship beyond any doubt. - The text was written in Amsterdam, just before Mirabeau's arrest and four-year imprisonment in Vincennes, under the impression of a performance of Ignazio Raimondi's symphony "Les aventures de Télémaque dans l'isle de Calypso". The manuscript contains several revisions and changes that were adopted for the publication, while small discrepancies remain unaccounted for. It comprises Mirabeau's central questions, a general definition of music as "the art of combining sounds in a manner that is pleasing to the ear", and parts of his historical argument. - Mirabeau, who had no musical education, adopts the rhetorics of the paragone, opposing vocal music and instrumental music in order to determine which is superior in expressing emotions. While the development of the argument and Mirabeau's historical references are quite traditional, the defence of instrumental music and his assertion that it is more expressive in terms of conveying emotions, even if vocal music can offer a narrative based on texts, is unique in its time and appears to anticipate the Romantic predilection for programme music. The Neapolitan violonist and composer Ignazio Raimondi (ca. 1735-1813) was a student of Emanuele Barbella and member of the orchestra of the Teatro di San Carlo before moving to Amsterdam in 1762, where he was a successful soloist and impresario. From 1785, Raimondi was mostly active in London, where he died in 1813. - Some browning and some damage due to ink corrosion, several tears partly affecting the text (one professionally restored). Le lecteur y mettra le titre, Londres [i.e., Paris, s.n.], 1777. Cf. Bellinda Cannone, Le lecteur y mettra le titre. Un pamphlet de Mirabeau en faveur de la musique instrumentale, in: Dix-Huitième Siècle 20 (1988), pp. 403-414.
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Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de, French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher (1689-1755).
Document with autograph annotation signed ("Montesquieu"). Château de La Brède, 13. VI. 1717.
4to. 3 lines on vellum. Beautiful autograph on the last page of a copy of a contract with the tax stamp of the generality of Bordeaux (fol. 1r). Montesquieu probably annotated and signed this document, originally drawn up on 5 May 1712 in Castiers, in his role as président à mortier of Bordeaux, confirming that he had "received the sous and taxes of the present contract" and "canceled the third": "J'ai reçu les sols et rentes du present contrat et ai quitté le tiers". - Montesquieu had inherited his title, a large fortune and his office in Bordeaux from his uncle Jean-Baptiste de Secondat in 1716. He would remain président à mortier for 10 years until 1726, when he was forced to sell his venal office in order to settle debts. - Minimally smudged.
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Phélypeaux de La Vrillière, Louis, French statesman (1599-1681).
Letter signed. Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 30. VI. 1662.
4 to. 1 p. on bifolium. In his office as Secretary of State for Protestant Affairs, responding negatively to a complaint by a Madame de Saint Cosme: "Jay receu une de vos lettres sans datte avec un mémoire des consul. des habitans relig.ses de vre terre de St. Cosme sur les pretentions touchant l’exercice aud.t lieu. Comme la chose sans doubte a esté bien examinée par Mess.rs les commissaires avant que de la descider, il est à croire que le jugement qu’ils rendu est juste. Je suis fasché que vous ayez sujet de vous en plaindre […]". - Until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, the Secretary of State for Protestant Affairs had the responsibilty of enforcing the Edict and settling conflicts between Catholics and Huguenots on an administrative level. Over the 17th century, increasing pressure was put on the French Huguenots, which led to many complaints, generally unsuccessful. Members of the Phélypeaux family held the office from 1610 until 1775. - Traces of folds. Some foxing.
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Pompadour, Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de, mistress of Louis XV (1721-1764).
Autograph letter signed ("La M. de Pompadour"). N. p., 19. XI. 1754.
4to. 1½ pp. In French. Highly interesting letter that is part of an affair surrounding the admission of a member of the House of Hénin and courtier of the Marquise de Pompadour to the Order of Malta. Apparently, the bailiff of Saint-Simon, a cousin of the Duc de Saint-Simon and unquestionably a political enemy of the Marquise, tried to prevent the desired admission of Hénin. The Marquise immediately put pen to paper and intervened on behalf of her courtier, casting doubt on the credibility of the detractor. The letter contains "two reflections" on the matter; it accompanied a further letter to a high-ranking Knight Hospitaller, most likely Louis Gabriel de Froulay, ambassador of the Order of Malta to Louis XV: "The 1st, his having been my gentleman, cannot disadvantage Mr. d'Hennin to enter the Order of Malta, since there is more than one example of dear ones who are admitted, whose fathers had belonged to ladies of the court, and even to titled names. The 2nd, that to serve the King at the table is a very great honour, and that it is usually the governors of the royal houses who are in possession of it, Monsieur the Bailiff of St Simon cannot say what he saw at my table, since he has never been there" (transl.). In closing, she asks the recipient to inform the Grand Master before he makes any decision and announces that M. Rouillé, probably the Secretary of State Antoine Louis Rouillé, will give him "an exact account of the affair". - The intervention appears to have been successful: the Marquise's protégé was probably François-Joseph de Hénin-Liétard (b. 1729), who was received into the Order of Malta on 16 March 1755. - Well preserved.
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[Vietnamese mythology].
"Histoire sur la vie du grand Génie de Bac Ninh ong Thanh Dong, dit vulgairement Thanh Giong ou en caractères Dông Thiên Vuong". Manuscript on the legend of Thánh Gióng. N. p., [mid-19th century].
Folio (200 x 312 mm). French manuscript on paper. 8½ pp. on 6 ff. Sewn. Together with a lithographed text in Chinese on rice paper. Folio (168 x 314 mm). 6 pp. on 7 ff. Sewn. Entitled "History of the life of the great Genie of Bac Ninh ong Thanh Dong, commonly known as Thánh Gióng, or in characters as Dông Thiên Vuong", the manuscript describes eight episodes from the Thánh Gióng legend in idiosyncratic French. The first and longest part is a rendering of the core story of the hero's victory over an invading Chinese army as a three-year-old child: "Le Roi de Hung Vuong envoyait ses ambassadeurs d’aller à la recherche à celui qui pourra se rendre maître à ces guerriers belliqueux. Les ambassadeurs du Roi étaient alors arrivés à Phu Dong. Le Dông Thiên Vuong était âgé de 3 ans, étendu sur un lit en bambous disait aux ambassadeurs quand on m’aura procuré d’un cheval de fer et un sabre je me rendrai maître aux guerriers belliqueux" ("The King of Hung Vuong sent his ambassadors to go in search of the one who will be able to make himself master to these warlike warriors. The King's ambassadors arrived at Phu Dong. The Dông Thiên Vuong was 3 years old, lying on a bed of bamboo said to the ambassadors when one will have provided me with an iron horse and a saber I will make myself master to the warlike warriors", transl.). The following seven episodes have a more concrete temporal setting tied to the succeeding Vietnamese dynasties, ranging from the 1st and 2nd Lê dynasties (between 980 and 1788) to the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945). These are all accounts of miracles performed by the now divine Thánh Gióng against invading armies and other enemies of the Vietnamese kings. In a note on the final page, the French copyist ascribes the original text to an author named Nguyen Hui Thiên from the district ("huyen") of "Tiên Do", probably Tiên Du in the northern Bac Ninh province. - Lower right margin of the final 3 leaves torn without loss to text; upper right corner creased.
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Barrie, James Matthew, Scottish author and dramatist (1860-1937).
Portrait photograph signed. No place or date.
170 x 110 mm. A photograph of James M. Barrie, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. Signed and inscribed in fountain pen by Barrie, reading, "Yours truly, J. M. Barrie." Cabinet Photograph in a handsome profile pose, produced by the famous Elliott & Fry of London. "The firm of Elliott & Fry was founded in 1863 by Joseph John Elliott (1835-1903) and Clarence Edmund Fry (1840-97), who opened their first premises at 55 Baker Street where they stayed at until 1886. The firm employed a variety of operators who took the photographs, including Francis Henry Hart and Alfred James Philpott in the Edwardian era, Herbert Lambert and Walter Benington in the 1920s and 1930s and subsequently William Flowers. In the early 1940s the studio was bombed and most of the early negatives were destroyed. Shortly after the firm's centenary in 1963 it was taken over by and amalgamated with Bassano & Vandyk. The National Portrait Gallery owns all the surviving negatives" (National Portrait Gallery).
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Baudelaire, Charles, French poet (1821-1867).
Autograph letter signed "Carlos". [Lyon], 23. XI. 1833.
4to. 3 pp. on bifolium. With autograph address. In French. Beautiful juvenile letter to his half-brother Alphonse, thanking him for a "beautiful edition of Juvenal" and promising to study so as to achieve good grades. Baudelaire, then a 12-year-old schoolboy at the Collège Royal de Lyon, had received gifts and awards for his good performance, although he must "shamefully admit" that he "obtained these advantages without much effort". Therefore, he promises to improve: "this year I want to cram heavily so that if I do not succeed, I shall have nothing for which to blame myself". He describes the excitement of receiving the awards and gifts that motivated him: "It is really nice to hear your name proclaimed for an award, to which you add this sentence 7 times nominated! Nominated in all subjects! And then it's your mother or father who crowns you! [...] With these prizes, one accumulates book after book, and then the gifts of the parents and then those of the brother too. Because they are beautiful". Finally, he explains with the help of three sketches the gift of a phenakistiscope that he had received from his stepfather Jacques Aupick: "This word is as strange as the invention. [...] It is a cardboard box in which there is a small mirror that is placed on a table between two candles. There is also a handle to which a cardboard circle with small holes all around is adapted. On top of it we add another cardboard drawing, the drawing turned towards the mirror. Then one makes turn, and one looks by the small holes in the mirror where one sees very pretty drawings". The phenakistiscope was the first widespread animation device that created a fluent illusion of motion. It was invented in 1832, only one year before the young Charles Baudelaire received this novelty from his stepfather. - A fascinating letter that provides a valuable insight into Baudelaire's childhood. Good grades without much effort is a fitting summary of his school career. While his high intelligence and intellectual precociousness were obvious, he was also erratic in his studies and was often scolded for idleness. - Traces of folds. With a tear from breaking the seal and minor tears to the folds but no text loss. Some browning and somewhat creased overall. Published in: Correspondance (Pléiade), vol. I, p. 21; Exposition Baudelaire, Petit Palais 1968 (no. 37).
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Dale, Frederic (John), British light composer (1872-1956).
Autograph letter signed. Worlebury, Weston-super-Mare, 13. V. 1934.
4to. 4 pp. on 3 ff. To the fellow musician Frederick Allan Wilshire (1868-1944), remembering times spent together in 1914, and with news since then. Dale's wife has passed away, and he himself has moved back to his native Weston-super-Mare: "At long-last I have 'got-down' to do that which I have not once but a dozen times wished, attempted ... yes, actually started to do ... To send you a line. Now, it is I read (in the 'Evening World', which seems to claim you as a bit o' property!) of MARY. THAT settled it ... there is a wee ditty in my very overstacked folio, that very truly belongs to MARY ... so I, at long-last again, send it. You are going to laugh at this. What I remember most o' you (& I remember, gladly, 'quite' a bit') is a meeting on the Cornish Cliffs & the three words 'THIS IS MARY' when 'presenting' the little maid to me [...] My doctor told me - in 1921 - it was either 'OOT O' LONDON' or 'CEMETARY' for me - NERVES. So, I, not being over keen about cemetaries, came down HERE. I rarely see Weston. I just DON'T LIKE ... That's all [...]". - With embossed letterheads. First leaf slightly yellowed.
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Daudet, Léon, French writer (1867-1942).
Autograph letter signed. [Paris], "31 rue Saint Guillaume", 17 March 1938.
4to. 1 p. To general Philippe Pétain (1856-1951), without being formerly acquainted, expressing his great appreciation. Pétain, he writes, had been a source of encouragement for Daudet in a decisive phase of his work on George Clemenceau ("La vie orageuse de Clemenceau", Albin Michel, 1938), because Pétain embodied the same strength and vision that had fascinated Daudet in General Charles Mangin's counter-offensive (at Méry-Courcelles in 1918). Daudet is concerned for Pétain's health; he sees the war with Germany as inevitable and stresses that France would have urgent need of Pétain at this time: "Sans avoir l'honneur de vous connaitre, j'ai pour vous autant d'amitié que d'admiration, et vous vous en apercevrez quand je publierai, bientôt je peux, mon ouvrage sur Clemenceau [...] ce qui m'a attiré par vous, c'est votre mépris des honneurs et de l'avancement, l'indépendance de votre jugement. J'aimais Mangin, et il y a en vous cette même force et clairvoyance, qui m'attirait dans le vainqueur de Méry-Courcelles [...] Il m'est bouleversé de penser que vous avez été opéré et que votre santé est fléchissant, car la France a besoin de vous. La guerre est certaine [...]". - Paper slightly browned, with a small break.
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Jules, Verne, French writer (1828-1905).
1 autograph letter signed and 1 autograph letter (signature clipped). Amiens, 30 Dec. 1901 and 13 Aug. 1902.
12mo. Together 2¼ pp. on bifolia. Both to Jules Verne's younger sister Anna. The earlier letter from 30 December 1901 contains New Year's wishes, news about Jules Verne's health, and an invitation to visit him and his wife Honorine in Amiens: "Nous te renvoyons nos vœux, pour cette nouvelle année 1902 dans laquelle je vais achever ma soixante-quatorzième ! Mes yeux sont toujours dans le même état et je ne me déciderai à subir l'opération que le jour où ce sera absolument nécessaire. Je sais que tous les enfants vont bien, et je te renouvelle ce que je te disais dans ma dernière lettre : si tu reviens dans le nord, tache de t'arrêter, soit pour quelques heures, ou bien quelques jours à Amiens, cela nous fera grand plaisir". - The second letter from August 1902 again concerns Jules Verne's eye cataract and his decision to delay surgery as long as possible: "Honorine et moi, nous t'envoyons nos meilleurs compléments, en te priant de les transmettre à ton fils ! Cependant, cette double bénédiction ne laisse pas d'être lourde, comme tu le dis. Mais il faut bien l'accepter. Honorine n'a pas trop à se plaindre de sa santé. Et toi ?... Pour moi, j'y vais mal. Je n'ai point encore été opéré de mon cataracte, et je me n'y déciderai que lorsqu'il ne sera plus possible de faire autrement. Tant que je pourrai lire et écrire, même difficilement, j'attendrai [...]". - The earlier letter without signature due to clipping. Well preserved.
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