Verba Volant, Scripta Manent (Epistolary Art)

Long autograph letter by Stendhal, addressed to his sister Pauline, written in fine handwriting with black ink.
Address of Stendhal's father, where his sister resides, in Grenoble, with the stamp "n°51 Grande Armée." Red wax seal bearing Stendhal's coat of arms.
Several original folds, inherent to postal delivery. A paper loss due to the unsealing of the letter has been skillfully restored. Published in his Correspondance (ed. Henri Martineau), Paris, Le Divan, 1933, vol. 3, no. 262 A, pp. 26-29.
A very beautiful letter, filled with romantic passion, blending childhood nostalgia with sentimental tales, and foreshadowing...

First edition, of which only 500 copies were issued. With an etched frontispiece portrait of Théophile Gautier by Émile Thérond.

With a substantial prefatory letter by Victor Hugo.

Full red morocco binding, gilt date at the foot of spine, marbled endpapers, Baudelairian ex-libris from Renée Cortot’s collection on the first endpaper, wrappers preserved, top edge gilt. Pale foxing affecting the first and last leaves, beautiful copy perfectly set.

Autograph letter signed on four pages, dated 12 November 1851. 124 lines in black ink.

This letter is presented in a chemise and slipcase with paper boards decorated with abstract motifs, green morocco spine, green suede doublure, slipcase with morocco spine and matching paper boards signed by Thomas Boichot.

Unpublished autograph letter on progress, signed by Pierre-Joseph-Marie Proudhon, major figure in French social thought, and  “the father of...

First edition, one of 50 numbered copies printed on pure Lana vellum, the only large paper copies.
Fine copy.
Text established, presented and annotated by Anne Borrel and Jean-Pierre Halévy.

Letter typed and signed from André Malraux to Maurice Béjart. One leaf headed by the Ministre d'Etat chargé des Affaires Culturelles (Ministry of Culture), bearing a stamp from 29 January 1969.
André Malraux hopes to place choreographer Maurice Béjart in charge of the Ballet de l'Opéra in Paris.

Magnificent and unpublished handwritten letter signed by Fernand Léger about American jazz and colours, addressed to Gaston Criel, author of a pioneering essay on “Swing.”
The painter looks back on his exile in the United States from 1940 to 1945, talks about Louis Armstrong and of his captivating discovery of experimental jazz in New York, in the company of the Afro-American painters of the Harlem Renaissance.

29 lines in black ink, written on one leaf.

The hand-written letter is presented under a half forest green morocco chemise, green paper boards with a stylised motif, endpapers lined with green lamb, slip case lined with...

Significant letter written by René Magritte to André Bosmans, dated 9 January 1965 and signed with his initials. 35 lines in black ink on one leaf with the heading “René Magritte 97, rue des Mimosas, Bruxelles 3 Téléphone 15.07.30”. Several words crossed out and passages underlined. 

Published in the Lettres à André Bosmans 1958-1967, Seghers I. Brachot, 1990, pp. 407-408
A letter that is both comical and of great philosophical depth, in which the Surrealist painter René Magritte tackles the question of the imagination and inspiration. In it there is a very pertinent analysis of the issues of aesthetics and of modern thinking, while the painter...

Remarkable autograph letter signed by Charles Baudelaire to Auguste Poulet-Malassis, publisher of Les Fleurs du Mal, dated 28 February 1859 and written in Honfleur. 64 lines in black ink, some passages underlined, housed in a modern black half-morocco folder.

Baudelaire appears preoccupied with the “ Sainte-Beuve/Babou affair,” one of the many controversies following the Fleurs du Mal trial, in which the writer Hippolyte Babou accused Sainte-Beuve of failing to defend Baudelaire during the proceedings.
Excerpts from this letter were quoted by Marcel Proust in his celebrated Contre Sainte-Beuve, where he lamented...

One of the most magnificent letters by Fernand Léger

A fabulous handwritten letter by the painter Fernand Léger, written on the front line during the Battle of Argonne, addressed to the Parisian art trader Adolphe Basler.
92 lines in black ink, four pages on a double leaf, dated 28 May 1915 by Léger.
The handwritten letter is presented with a half forest green morocco chemise, green paper boards with a stylised motif, endpapers lined with green lamb, slip case lined with the same morocco, the piece is signed by Goy & Vilaine.
The letter was chosen for Cécile...

Paris, Nicolas Simart, 1734, and Rollin fils, 1737. Six duodecimo volumes.

First official edition, largely in first printing, of the Recueil des lettres de Madame la marquise de Sévigné à Madame la comtesse de Grignan, sa fille, edited by Denis-Marius Perrin under the supervision of Pauline de Simiane, the author's granddaughter. The first four volumes were published by Nicolas Simart in 1734; the final two, completing the collection, by Rollin fils in 1737. The set contains 614 letters, all addressed to Madame de Grignan.

Two engraved portraits...

First edition, one of 25 numbered copies on "pur-fil" paper, most limited issue.

The book Camus dedicated to his friend René Leynaud.

Rare and handsome copy.