Writers' autograph manuscripts, work drafts, handwritten notebooks, autograph poems, romantic manuscript fragments

"Y a des bals pour les pompiers / Et les joyeux militaires. /...

Comme devant une place / Pleine de gens et de bruit / Je reste figé sur place / Arrêté devant ma vie

Ce que j'aime dans la romance / C'est l'moment où ça commence / Le moment où je la vois / Toute neuve devant moi

Autograph manuscript of 12 pages on squared sheets, written in blue ink, with numerous passages underlined.
A previously unpublished set of reflections by Jean-Paul Sartre on social structure and bourgeois ideology, probably written in 1952 as part of a projected screenplay on the revolutionary period. This series of interior dialogues on the nature of individual and collective power constitutes an early draft of the ideas later developed in his 1960 masterpiece, Critique of Dialectical Reason. Through the example of the French Revolution and the Terror, Sartre questions the role of the citizen and of property, drawing on the writings of Kant, Marx...

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...

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Unpublished autograph letter on progress, signed by Pierre-Joseph-Marie Proudhon, major figure in French social thought, and  “the father of...

Original poster by Karen Horowitz numbered 145/200, dated 1974 and signed in pencil, showing a photograph with a superimposed quote from Lawrence Durrell's Justine: “The world is like a cucumber – today it's in your hand, tomorrow up your ass”.
A few tiny wormholes.

Manuscript inscription in felt tip pen by Lawrence Durrell to the left of the quote: “Buttons dear Attention! Larry Durrell. 1978”

This poster was given to a young lover of the author's who, in both Sommières and Paris, livened up his lonely days at the end of the 60s and in the 70s. Janine Brun, also known as “Buttons” in the author's letters and postcards was described thus...

Manuscript based on the Gothic first edition of 1523, in black ink, in relatively legible handwriting. The manuscript is paginated from p.1 to 400. Approximately 28 lines per page. The final leaf reads: "Nouvellement imprimé à Paris, par Philippe Le Noir, libraire et relieur... Imprimé le 20e jour de juin mil cinq cent 23."

Contemporary full glazed blonde calf binding. Spine with raised bands decorated. Red morocco title-label. 2 corners slightly bumped. Rubbing. Scratches to boards. Worming to first 8 leaves in outer margin, without consequence; also minor worming to upper board. A handsome copy.
The spelling of the 1523 version appears to have been modernized in...

Handwritten manuscript signed by the choreographer Maurice Béjart. 

10 leaves written in blue pen. Handwritten pagination.
Maurice Béjart's handwritten proofs for his book Béjart-theâtre: A-6-Roc (éditions Plume, 1992), about his play A-6-Roc, first performed in the same year at the Vidy theatre in Lausanne.
After the foundation of “Béjart Ballet Lausanne” and his definitive departure from Belgium in 1987, Béjart continues to stage operas, produce films and publish several books (novel, memories, personal diary...). In addition, he wrote and directed his third play A-6-Roc performed in Lausanne in 1992, which he published...

Handwritten manuscript signed by the choreographer Maurice Béjart, sent to his publisher with a handwritten letter on two leaves.

9 leaves, 145 lines written in blue pen. Hand-pagination of the manuscript (1-7) and the letter to his publisher (a-b).
Maurice Béjart's handwritten reflections, entitled “Mémoire” “Memoirs,” make up the last chapter of his work Béjart-theâtre: A-6-ROC (Editions Plume, 1992), regarding his eponymous play that was created the same year in Lausanne.
After the foundation of “Béjart Ballet Lausanne” and his definitive departure from Belgium in 1987, Béjart continues to stage operas, produce...

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...

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...