First edition of each volume.
Publisher’s full burgundy cloth bindings, flat spines, blue endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved for the second volume, front cover preserved for the first volume, gilt top edges.
Minor discoloration spots on the boards.
The first volume includes 75 biographies of notable figures of the time (each featuring a facsimile autograph and a wood-engraved portrait by Brauer), including Paul Arène, Léon Cladel, Coquelin ainé, Charles Gounod, Frédéric Mistral, Albert Robida, Octave Uzanne...
The second volume contains 76 biographies (each with a facsimile autograph and a wood-engraved portrait by Brauer) of figures such as Auguste Bartholdi, Benjamin Constant, Georges Courteline, Alexandre Dumas, Thomas Edison, Judith Gautier, Jules Massenet, Catulle Mendès, Henri Rochefort, Georges Rochegrosse, Emile Zola...
Some light foxing.
A handsome set.
"1st July Tilsit
I have just received, my dear Aimée, your letters from the 19th and 20th of June. It feels as though I am by your side, experiencing all the anxieties that have tormented me in similar situations. My eagerness to learn of the event is extreme. The courage you display as it approaches truly reassures me and dispels the deep worries I could not shake off some time ago.
[...]
You must, my dear Aimée, focus on taking good care of your health so that when I arrive in Paris, I find you fully recovered from your confinement, and we can enjoy Savigny together for the rest of the beautiful season. For the affairs here are taking such a turn that I can hope to embrace you within two months at the latest. [...]
It seems to me, my dear friend, that I have never given you cause for such fears, but enough on this matter.
Let us speak a little of our Joséphine. She shows an intelligence far superior to her age, for which I am grateful for all her kindness and the good humor she shows you.
I send her, for this reason, endless affection. A thousand tender thoughts to our dear mother. Reassure her about the health of Desessart, Beaupré, and all that concerns her, and remind me to the memory of my sister-in-law; announce to her that her brave and esteemed husband enjoys perfect health.
Farewell, my dear Aimée, receive the embraces of your loving and faithful husband. L. Davout"
Autograph letter signed by Marshal Davout to his wife, Aimée Leclerc. Two and a half pages in black ink on a double sheet. Fold marks inherent to mailing.
Very likely unpublished letter ("the intimate correspondence of Marshal Davout ceases from August to November [1807]" incorrectly states the Marquise de Blocqueville in Le Maréchal Davout, prince d'Eckmühl, raconté par les siens et par lui-même) addressed to his beloved wife, sister-in-law of Pauline Bonaparte. Settled in his palace halfway between Warsaw and Łódź, Davout, now Governor General of the Duchy of Warsaw, longs for his wife and their property in Savigny-sur-Orge: "but although this place is one of the most beautiful in the country, it is a hundred thousand leagues from Savigny." He especially urges the marshal's wife to appear at court and remain close to the Emperor; she was notably in charge of requesting her husband's leave permissions from Napoleon himself. Davout could hardly escape from Poland ("If I could foresee the date of my definitive return") to deal, among other things, with the marital affairs of his cousin Hélène Davout: "I would ask you, if our cousin is not greatly attached to her future husband, to convince her that in the next six months we will find a more advantageous match for her, but events may occur that do not allow for leave.") This latter will eventually marry General François-Louis Coutard in Warsaw in 1808.
Very visual letter bearing a beautiful signature of Marshal Davout.
Autograph letter signed by Marshal Davout, then Governor General of Poland, addressed to his wife Aimée Leclerc, sister-in-law of Pauline Bonaparte. Three pages in black ink on a double sheet, with his autograph address on the verso, as well as the stamp of the Grande Armée, and a broken wax seal, armorial with the cipher "LD" on grand mantle and Marshal's batons under crown.
Tears from opening affecting two words on the third page.
After Davout's brilliant personal victory at Auerstedt, the battles of Jena, Eylau and Friedland which ended the war against the fourth coalition, Davout reaps the fruits of his success. Covered with honors and benefits by the Emperor, he enjoys his vast lands as the new Governor General of Poland.
Autograph letter signed by Marshal Davout to his wife, Aimée Leclerc, sister-in-law of Pauline Bonaparte. 1 page in black ink on a bifolium, with his handwritten address on the verso, postal stamp dated 23 January 1807, and broken wax seal bearing the marshal’s arms with batons, tassels, and oak leaves, inscribed "Le maréchal Davout Empire français" on the address panel, which was opened without affecting the text.
A battlefield letter written from Pultusk, where on 26 and 27 December 1806 the Russian forces under General Bennigsen were defeated by Marshal Lannes, with the support of Gudin’s division, which included a detachment from Marshal Davout’s corps. According to the memoirs of Commander Jakub Kierkowski, "ce fut un vrai jour du jugement dernier [...] il pleuvait et il neigeait, un vent glacial soufflait. Les chevaux de notre cavalerie avaient la boue jusqu'au ventre c'est pourquoi elle ne put rien entreprendre. L'infanterie russe chargea deux fois à la baïonnette, mais elle fut refoulée avec des pertes sévères. Presque personne ne tenait plus à sa vie car le gel prenait les gens mouillés, donc tous furent transis [...] il fut impossible de fléchir les bras car la glace craquait sur le corps, le froid et avec ça la faim, mieux vaut la mort qu'une telle vie."
A vivid letter bearing Marshal Davout’s elegant signature.
"Hier ma petite Aimée je t'ai donné de mes nouvelles. J'ai oublié de te parler de celles de nos parents. Leur santé est aussi bonne que la mienne. Sous peu de jours, je pense t'annoncer que Sa majesté leur a donné de nouvelles marques de sa bienveillance. [Marc-Antoine Bonin de la Boninière de] Beaumont est toujours à Varsovie avec la goutte. D'abord il y a longtemps que je n'ai eu de vos nouvelles j'ai chargé Laforêt porteur de cette lettre [...] il doit ainsi me rapporter tes lettres puisqu'il y en aura.
Adieu ma petite Aimée, [...] mille caresses pour notre Joséphine et mille baisers à sa belle et vaillante Maman. Ton amoureux [...] L. Davout"
Extremely rare autograph letter signed « Restif Labretone » addressed to Citoyenne Fontaine. Three pages written in black ink on a double sheet of laid paper. Remains of a wax seal, folds inherent to mailing.
This letter was published, with some inaccuracies, in Lettres inédites de Restif de Labretone by V. Forest and É. Grimaud, 1883.
