Reynaldo HAHN

First edition of this rare fascicle, unnumbered, and printed in a small number on Dutch laid paper. Illustrated with a portrait of Albert Cuyp after Maurin.
In sheets under gray-green publisher's wrapper printed in black and red, 5 pages of lithographed music (Imp. Delanchy), publisher's wet stamp on blank verso of last leaf. Very small nicks at head and tail of soft cover spine, copy in pristine condition.
Poetic and musical portrait of the Dutch Golden Age painter Albert Cuyp, created jointly by Marcel Proust and Reynaldo Hahn who accompanies the writer's verses with a piano melody.
This is the first of four portraits of...

First edition of this rare fascicle, unnumbered, published in a small number of copies on Dutch laid paper.
Work illustrated with a portrait of Albert Cuyp after Maurin.
In sheets under grey-green publisher's wrappers printed in black and red, 5 pages of lithographed music (Imp. Delanchy), publisher's blind stamp on verso of final blank leaf. Very small tears to margins of spine and boards, handsome copy.
Poetic and musical portrait of the Dutch Golden Age painter Albert Cuyp, created collaboratively by Marcel Proust and Reynaldo Hahn who accompanies the writer's verses with a piano melody.
This is the first of four...

Autograph letter signed by Reynaldo Hahn, dandy, composer and great love of Marcel Proust (22 lines in black ink) regarding the biography that Léon Daudet devoted to his father Alphonse in 1898.
Trace of fold inherent to mailing.
Reynaldo Hahn congratulates Léon Daudet for the rational pertinence and clarity of the biography: "... où l'on retrouve tout ce qui était définissable et analysable en Alphonse Daudet..." ["... where one finds all that was definable and analyzable in Alphonse Daudet..."] while regretting nonetheless that he had only imperfectly captured the author of Lettres de mon moulin : " ... ce que vous n'avez pu...

Signed autograph note by Reynaldo Hahn addressed to Madame Serge André and written on a white paper letter-card in blue ink. Central fold inherent to the mailing.
Dominique André is a poetess, novelist and playwright. She notably published under the pseudonym Claude Isambert.
Reynaldo Hahn declines an invitation from his friend: "Est-ce possible, chère Madame ! Vous m'invitez à goûter ! Hélas, je ne pense pas aller nulle part dans la journée ! Un soir à l'Escargot d'Or on avait projeté de se voir : Lacretelle devait me faire signe - que sais-je ?" ["Is it possible, dear Madame! You invite me for afternoon tea! Alas, I don't...

Signed autograph note by Reynaldo Hahn addressed to Madame Serge André and written on a white paper letter-card in blue ink. Central fold inherent to the mailing.
Dominique André is a poetess, novelist and playwright. She notably published under the pseudonym Claude Isambert.
"J'ai trop tardé, chère Madame, à vous remercier de votre livre et du plaisir qu'il m'a procuré. Plaisir amer et trouble - mais rare. Ce qui est particulièrement remarquable en ces pages, c'est leur extrême distinction..." ["I have delayed too long, dear Madame, in thanking you for your book and the pleasure it has given me. Bitter and troubled pleasure -...

First edition, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Precious signed autograph inscription from Reynaldo Hahn to Henri Béraud.
Spine sunned, covers stained, light foxing affecting mainly the endpapers.
Provenance: from Henri Béraud's library on the Île de Ré.

Autograph letter signed by Reynaldo Hahn, dandy, composer and great love of Marcel Proust (30 lines in blue ink from the Hôtel de la Réserve in Monte Carlo) addressed to Marthe Daudet, wife of the journalist and monarchist writer Léon Daudet, principal collaborator of Charles Maurras at Action Française.
Fold mark inherent to posting, the ink of some letters having bled on the verso.
Since the death of his sister, Reynaldo Hahn is inconsolable and recalls the all too rare joys he has experienced in recent times. He thanks Marthe Daudet who tempered his despondency: "... what sadness since our lunch in St Rémy! It is the last pleasant moment I have lived in...

Autograph letter signed by Reynaldo Hahn, dandy, composer and great love of Marcel Proust (20 lines in blue ink) addressed to Julia Daudet concerning the tragic death of her grandson Philippe who committed suicide at the age of 14; his father, Léon Daudet, accused anarchist circles or the police of the Third Republic of having disguised this "crime" as suicide.
Fold marks inherent to postal dispatch.
Reynaldo Hahn apologizes for not being as available as he would like for his friends and regrets having missed his correspondent at her home: "... à aller vous dire tout ce que je ressens si vivement..." ["to come tell you all that I feel so...

Autograph letter signed by Reynaldo Hahn addressed to Madame Serge André and written on a blue paper letter-card in blue ink. Central fold inherent to the mailing.
Dominique André is a poetess, novelist and playwright. She notably published under the pseudonym Claude Isambert.
Charming letter of thanks: "Merci, chère amie, de m'avoir envoyé ce bouquet de fleurs épineuses et embaumées de tant d'arômes divers." ["Thank you, dear friend, for having sent me this bouquet of thorny flowers perfumed with so many diverse aromas."] The composer also mentions the collection of poems Cassandre that his friend published the same year by éditions du...

Autograph card signed by Reynaldo Hahn addressed to Georges Hoog. About ten lines written in blue ink.
Interesting card discussing the opera Mireille: "We performed Mireille here, the true Mireille, with exceptional brilliance and success. I patiently await the day when this masterpiece can return to the Opera theater, but without mutilations."
Composed by Charles Gounod after Frédéric Mistral's Provençal poem, the opera Mireille premiered on March 19, 1864 at the Théâtre Lyrique. The work was reworked numerous times and considerably reduced. It was not until 1939 that the original score was rediscovered, notably thanks to the...