Cassis

Autograph letter dated and signed by Roger Martin du Gard, 58 lines in black ink on a double sheet to the manager of his château du Tertre located in the Perche.
While vacationing in Cassis: "having fled this year, with my wife, the mists of the Perche," Roger Martin du Gard has just learned from his wife, who returned hastily to their château du Tertre, that torrential rains have severely affected their property: "Disaster in the house... the ceiling is nothing but a sieve, it rains as much inside as outside... The terraces are starting to leak again from all sides... everything is affected: paintings, wallpaper, electrical conduits. What...

Autograph letter signed by Roger Martin du Gard addressed from Cassis to his friend Alice Rim (3 pages, 48 lines in black ink) in which he savors his peaceful solitude in deserted Cassis. He thanks her for all the delicacies and confectioneries with which she supplies the Provençal hermit who only deplores the absence of his friends Carlo and Rim at his side :
"Cassis. 8 janvier 34
Chère madame, Et serait-ce de petites crottes de musaraignes dans du papier d'argent, que je serais déjà pénétré de reconnaissance par votre amicale attention ! Imaginez donc ce que je puis éprouver en décortiquant ces délicieux tortillons de La Rochelle, croquants et onctueux, insinuants comme...

Fine and amusing signed manuscript letter from Roger Martin du Gard addressed from Cassis to Alice Rim (3 and a half pages, 54 lines in black ink) in which he lyrically praises the benefits of the delicious Parisian confections that his correspondent sends him: "... Et quelles sucreries ! Si Dieu pouvait goûter ce que Boissier fabrique avec ses fruits, comme il serait honteux des grossiers produits de ses arbres, et comme il aurait envie de recommencer sa création..." ["... And what confections! If God could taste what Boissier makes with his fruits, how ashamed he would be of the crude products of his trees, and how he would want to begin his creation anew..."]
He also...

Original photograph depicting Édith Piaf and Alice Rim on a pedalo in the port of Cassis in 1942
Original photograph taken by Carlo Rim depicting his wife Alice sitting on a pedalo next to Edith Piaf, the latter raising her right hand to shield her face from the sun, contemporary silver print.
Details handwritten in black felt tip by Carlo Rim on the back of the photograph: “Alice [et] Edith Piaf à Cassis 1942.” , other annotations in pencil and red pencil.


In its newspaper Le Grenier d'Arlequin 1916-1940, Carlo Rim recounts the first Édith Piaf concert he attended: “9...

Original photograph depicting Édith Piaf embraced by Norbert Glanzberg next to Alice and Carlo Rim in the port of Cassis in 1940
Original photograph depicting Edith Piaf embraced and kissed on the neck by the composer Norbert Glanzberg, then a refugee in France, with, to their right, Alice and Carlo Rim, the latter slightly set back, the first three being perched on a low wall, contemporary silver print. While Edith Piaf and Alice Rim are all smiling, Carlo Rim is the only one to take an ironically solemn break, standing almost to attention and with his eyes closed.

Back in France, to...

Beautiful and amusing signed manuscript letter from Roger Martin du Gard addressed from Cassis to Alice Rim (38 lines in black ink) in which he displays all his insatiable appetite for sweets.
Fold mark inherent to postal mailing.
"Cassis. February 11th, 34,
Dear Madam,
a certain Carlo, Comma, - whose infernal nerve you know - had the audacity to present himself alone (word underlined) in Cassis! (I must say that he had been conscious of the disappointment he was going to cause, and that he arrived with his arms loaded with sumptuous bags of fondant sweets and stuffed dates, from the most delicate confectioner) If...

Humorous autograph postcard signed by Roger Martin du Gard addressed from Cassis to Alice Rim (21 lines in black ink) describing the Provençal winter.
"Cassis. 13 dec.33,
Dear Madam,
Thank you for these few lively and friendly pages. Don't regret Cassis. It's freezing here. Not that it's as cold as elsewhere, but we don't know how to heat ourselves. The "Réserve" is empty. There we find a drowsy son-in-law, alone, roasting his shins by the big central stove stuffed like a locomotive and smoking just the same. The port is deserted. I believe the Mediterranean (sic) is carrying ice floes. (To be verified...) Congratulations to Carlo Rim for the Marraine...