Verba Volant, Scripta Manent (Epistolary Art)

Autograph letter signed by Honoré de Balzac to Sophie Koslowska. 4 pages in black ink on a bifolium.

Usual folds. Very small lacks of paper along the horizontal fold of the first leaf. Published in his Correspondance 1819-1850, II. Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 1875, pp. 31-33.

A long, feverish letter by Balzac, a few days before the premiere of Les Ressources de Quinola at the Odéon theater. The writer writes to his close friend Sophie Kozlowska, daughter of Prince Kozlowski about the chaotic fi­nal preparations, and urges her to fill the theater with all of Paris's Russian high society.

Autograph letter dated and signed by Jean Hélion addressed to Raymond Queneau, 41 lines (four pages on two leaves) written in black ink.
Jean Hélion cannot respond favorably to an invitation extended by his friend Raymond Queneau, partly due to his homebody nature: "J'ai pris l'habitude de rester chez nous, le samedi après-midi : à l'atelier jusqu'à 5 heures et là-haut jusqu'à l'heure du dîner pour y recevoit toutes sortes de jeunes gens que je n'ai pas le temps de voir un par un... Mais j'aimerais davantage vous montrer à vous seul, un peu tranquille et à n'importe quelle heure. Ne passez-vous jamais de ce côté ?" ("I have gotten into the habit of staying at h

Autograph letter initialed by Emile Zola, dated in his hand April 10, 1898. Four pages in black ink on a bifolium, addressed to Octave Mirbeau's wife.
Horizontal fold mark inherent to mailing, very rare and discrete foxing on the first leaf.
A particularity of this exile correspondence, Zola chose to omit his signature in his letters - or as here, to initial only, protecting himself from censorship or police investigations.
Published in his Complete Works, vol. XXV, ed. F. Bernouard, 1927, p. 820.
Heart-wrenching letter by Zola written in complete exile, the most unknown retreat, the most absolute silence. The justiciar writer is secluded in England, f

Autograph poem by André Pieyre de Mandiargues signed A.P.M. and dated June 5, 1974 entitled "Le plus libre graveur" and which he dedicated to Joan Miro.
Written in black ballpoint pen on a sheet, the poem, of 44 lines, contains some crossings-out and manuscript additions as well as an addition of a cut and pasted sheet in the lower right corner of the poem.
This text celebrating the painter Joan Miro and his style was published in the review XXe siècle in December 1974:
"Feu d'air ou feu de terre
 Feu de feu ou feu d'eau
 Le haut feu de Miro
 Se fait esprit de sel
 Acide ardent fumant
 Machoîre du dieu ivre
 Qui va mordre le cuivre...
...
Parf

Autograph letter dated from Liane de Pougy to the French archaeologist, curator of the Musée de Saint-Germain and professor of art history at the École du Louvre, Salomon Reinach, 56 lines written in blue ink on one double-sided sheet, written from her property at Clos-Marie in Roscoff where the famous courtesan stayed until 1926.
A small tear in the right-hand margin of the letter, inherent in the enveloping of the missive; another slight tear at the foot, without affecting the text.
Liane de Pougy marvels at the youthful vigor of Reinach, who had just turned 65: ' Many happy returns for your 65 years, which find you so young, so fresh, so green, with such playful (studious) feelin

"Chère Madame,
Mille excuses pour le malentendu qui est de ma faute, sans doute.
Je ne me souvenais pas du tout que vous n'étiez pas libre ce soir. Si vous l'êtes demain samedi, j'en serais heureux. J'ai couru à Châtelet et suis parvenu à faire changer le jour pou

Autograph letter in German signed by Rainer Maria Rilke to actress Else Hotop, to whom he writes under her stage name, Elya Maria Nevar. 2 1/2 pages written on a bifolium watermarked “Sackleinen”. Autograph envelope enclosed, addressed to ‘Else Hotop’ bearing postmarks dated November 3, 1918.Published in Freundschaft mit Rainer Maria Rilke, 1946, p. 35.

A precious piece of Rilke’s correspondence, reflecting the delights of an enchanted afternoon spent during WW1 with the actress Elya Nevar, one of his most fervent admirers.

Autograph letter signed by Charles de Gaulle, dated and addressed to his cook Augustine Bastide, who served him from 1940 to 1958, 13 lines in black ink on his headed paper.
Fold marks inherent to postal handling.
The de Gaulles had taken in the recipient of this letter, Augustine Bastide, upon their arrival in London. Of Provençal origin, she served the family from 1940 to 1958 first in Great Britain then in France. At the de Gaulle couple's table in an England severely affected by rationing, one could then find rabbits, winkles, and other frogs. The "outspoken Southerner" would remain in the general's service for nearly twenty years, sometimes causing hilarity in the stoic head of

Autograph letter dated and signed by Charles de Gaulle, addressed to his cook Augustine Bastide, who served him from 1940 to 1958. 21 lines in black ink on his headed paper.

Fold mark inherent to postal folding, minor tears of no consequence at the left and right margins of the central fold.

General de Gaulle thanks her : "I was very touched by the birthday wishes you thought to send me...". He shares the same considerations as his correspondent concerning the role that France must embody on the political level : "You know that, on this matter, my feelings are yours and that, despite the powerlessness and baseness of the present, I do not des

Autograph card signed, 7 lines in black ink.
A stain in the left margin affecting the first letter of the third line.
In this note, Huysmans questions the address of Dom Besse, Benedictine monk, French writer and historian, which he had previously communicated to his correspondent and for which he seems to have made an error.
As a precaution, he details it to him again.

Autograph letter dated and signed by Emile Zola, addressed to his friend the physician Maurice de Fleury, dated in his hand October 15, 1893. 1 page 1/4, 19 lines in black ink on a double sheet. Horinzontal and vertical folds due to mailing. Stain on verso, not affecting the text.

A most unusual invitation from the master of Naturalism, who wishes to organize a luncheon with two eminent specialists in nervous diseases: "Vous êtes bien aimable de m'inviter à déjeuner. Mais cela va vous faire perdre du temps et à moi aussi [...] pourquoi ne prendriez-vous pas un rendez-vous pour deux heures et demie par exemple, avec M. Gille de la Tourette, soit jeudi, soit

Manuscript note by Philippe Soupault, 22 lines in mauve ink on a sheet, headed with this inscription: "Les séances", devoted to the famous "sleep" sessions conducted in André Breton's studio consisting of oneiric writings or texts dictated by a dreamer.
The manuscript notes contain three deletions and corrections.
Philippe Soupault considers his attempts questionable and even labels them as imposture, distancing himself from any active participation in these practices: "Neither Aragon nor I participated actively in the experiments called sleep sessions, while Breton accepted with great interest Crevel's suggestion to engage in experiments he had discovered among fri