Autograph letter most probably unpublished signed addressed by Juliette Drouet to her lover Victor Hugo, four pages written in black ink on a bifolium.
Transverse folds inherent to mailing, fold joining the two leaves reinforced with a fine strip of pasted paper barely perceptible.
Absent from the very complete online edition of Juliette Drouet's letters to Hugo by the Centre d'Études et de Recherche Éditer/Interpréter (University of Rouen-Normandy).
Very beautiful declaration of love and admiration by Juliette Drouet, the day after Hugo's plea defending his son. Charles Hugo had been brought before the assizes, and condemned despite his father's intervention, for having valiantly castigated the execution of Claude Montcharmont.
Hugo's great love addresses this letter in troubled times, where father and son find themselves at the forefront of the scene for their abolitionist positions. Scandalized by the execution of Montcharmont, a 29-year-old poacher from Morvan, Charles Hugo publishes an article in l'Événement which earns him a trial for contempt of respect due to the laws: the Second Republic already exists only in name, and the press is subject to frequent attacks, further aggravated here by the notoriety of the Hugos. Victor wants to defend his son and delivers a plea that remains famous: "Mon fils, tu reçois aujourd'hui un grand honneur, tu as été jugé digne de combattre, de souffrir peut-être, pour la sainte cause de la vérité. A dater d'aujourd'hui, tu entres dans la véritable vie virile de notre temps, c'est-à-dire dans la lutte pour le juste et pour le vrai. Sois fier, toi qui n'est qu'un simple soldat de l'idée humaine et démocratique, tu es assis sur ce banc où s'est assis Béranger, où s'est assis Lamennais !" (My son, you receive today a great honor, you have been judged worthy to fight, perhaps to suffer, for the holy cause of truth. From today, you enter into the true virile life of our time, that is to say into the struggle for the just and the true. Be proud, you who are but a simple soldier of the human and democratic idea, you are seated on this bench where Béranger sat, where Lamennais sat!)
Despite Hugo's historic intervention, Charles is condemned to six months in prison and 50 francs fine - a decision that Juliette bitterly castigates, overwhelmed by anguish at the outcome of the trial: "J'ai beau savoir que cet arrêt inique est non seulement supporté avec courage par vous tous, mais accepté avec orgueil et avec joie par le plus directement intéressé dans cette malheureuse condamnation, la fatigue et l'inquiétude que j'ai éprouvé pendant toute cette interminable journée d'hier m'a laissée une douloureuse courbature physique et morale" (However much I know that this iniquitous verdict is not only borne with courage by all of you, but accepted with pride and joy by the one most directly concerned in this unfortunate condemnation, the fatigue and anxiety I experienced during all that interminable day yesterday has left me with a painful physical and moral ache).
12 juin jeudi matin 7h
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 home on Saturday afternoons: at the studio until 5 o'clock and upstairs until dinner time to receive all sorts of young people whom I don't have time to see one by one... But I would prefer to show you alone, a bit quietly and at any time. Don't you ever come by this way?")
He worries about the political path of one of their mutual friends, the pacifist militant Garry Davis who created in 1948 the World Citizens movement and in 1954 the World Service Authority organization: "Je m'occupe encore de ce bon Garry Davis, qui s'engage maintenant dans la non-violence, mais d'une façon qui pourrait être violente... Breton a tapé dessus comme sur des cymbales. Mais moi, par amitié, autant que pour une confiance dans sa force instinctive, je l'aiderai tant que possible... Il veut encore consulter ses amis, et il en a grand besoin. Camus, Mounier, Altman, l'abbé Pierre et quelques autres lui sont demeurés dévoués." ("I'm still taking care of that good Garry Davis, who is now engaging in non-violence, but in a way that could be violent... Breton struck out at him like cymbals. But I, out of friendship, as much as for confidence in his instinctive strength, will help him as much as possible... He still wants to consult his friends, and he has great need of it. Camus, Mounier, Altman, Abbé Pierre and some others have remained devoted to him.")
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, forced to leave Paris after being condemned to the maximum penalty for having written "J'accuse!"
during these cruel hours.
"je ne suis très fort que parce que je m'attends à tout et que mon seul but est le peu de vérité que nous réussirons sans doute à faire encore. Après, mon Dieu, qu'importe !"
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 state:
« En 1946, alors qu'il venait de quitter le pouvoir volontairement, il lui a lancé : "Vous voyez Augustine, la politique c'est plus décevant que le travail aux fourneaux". Alors, les mains aux hanches, elle a rétorqué : "Mais général, pourquoi ne vous décidez-vous donc pas à rendre définitivement votre tablier ?" Mon père n'a pu se retenir de rire » ("In 1946, when he had just voluntarily left power, he said to her: 'You see Augustine, politics is more disappointing than working at the stove'. Then, hands on her hips, she retorted: 'But General, why don't you decide to hang up your apron for good?' My father couldn't help but laugh")
(Philippe de Gaulle, De Gaulle mon père)
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 despair of the future."
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 table of the de Gaulle couple in an England severely affected by rationing, one could then find rabbits, periwinkles, and other frogs. The "outspoken Southerner" would remain in the general's service for nearly twenty years, sometimes provoking hilarity from the stoic head of state :
In 1946, when he had just voluntarily left power, he said to her : "You see Augustine, politics is more disappointing than working at the stoves." Then, hands on her hips, she retorted : "But general, why don't you decide to hang up your apron for good ?" My father could not help but laugh (Philippe de Gaulle, De Gaulle mon père)
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 vendredi. Nous irions chez lui, simplement [...]" ("You are very kind to invite me to lunch. But this will make you lose time and me as well [...] why wouldn't you make an appointment for two-thirty for example, with M. Gille de la Tourette, either Thursday or Friday. We would go to his place, simply [...]")
Zola relied on the expertise and scientific knowledge of Maurice de Fleury, a student of Charcot, to nourish his writing work on the Rougon-Macquart. De Fleury particularly shared publications from his library relating to heredity, a subject at the heart of Zola's great social series of novels - most particularly the generational transmission of nervous diseases, fits of violence and alcoholism.
Maurice de Fleury is also famous for having made, ten years after this letter, a medico-psychological study of Zola himself, through the prism of his working habits: "De dix heures à midi, Zola rédige encore - moins facilement et moins bien que pendant l'heure initiale - et c'est fini pour toute la journée, il ne sera plus bon qu'à écrire des lettres. C'est là la puissance du plus puissant cerveau dans le domaine littéraire, à la fin du siècle. Avec ce tout petit traintrain modeste, trois heures par jour en deux séances, cet homme dont l'attention est modique [...] trouve moyen de nous donner, tous les dix mois, un de ces livres où ne manquent ni la solidité de la charpente [...] ni rien de ce qui constitue la force créatrice, le génie, pour dire le mot"
("From ten o'clock to noon, Zola still writes - less easily and less well than during the initial hour - and it's finished for the whole day, he will only be good for writing letters. This is the power of the most powerful brain in the literary domain, at the end of the century. With this very modest little routine, three hours a day in two sessions, this man whose attention is modest [...] manages to give us, every ten months, one of those books which lack neither the solidity of the framework [...] nor anything that constitutes creative force, genius, to say the word").
"[Maurice de Fleury] maintained close relations with Émile Zola and Joris-Karl Huysmans, with whom he corresponded in the years 1880-1890. Fervent admirer of the author of the Rougon-Macquart, Fleury advised Zola for "Le Docteur Pascal" (1893) and confided his admiration in an article in Le Figaro, in 1896. Very 'fashionable' among the 'intellectuals' (according to Victor Segalen), the young physician also appears in the list of symbolist authors - alongside Paul Adam, Henri de Régnier and Gustave Kahn - in an essay by André Barre, in 1911" (Lola Kheyar Stibler)
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. Transverse folds inherent to mailing.
"[Maurice de Fleury] entretient des relations étroites avec Émile Zola et Joris-Karl Huysmans, avec lesquels il correspond dans les années 1880-1890. Fervent admirateur de l'auteur des Rougon-Macquart, Fleury conseille Zola pour Le Docteur Pascal (1893) et confie son admiration dans un article du Figaro, en 1896. Très « à la mode » parmi les « intellectuels » (selon le mot de Victor Segalen), le jeune médecin figure également dans la liste des auteurs symbolistes - aux côtés de Paul Adam, Henri de Régnier et Gustave Kahn - dans un essai d'André Barre, en 1911" ("[Maurice de Fleury] maintains close relations with Émile Zola and Joris-Karl Huysmans, with whom he corresponds in the years 1880-1890. Fervent admirer of the author of the Rougon-Macquart, Fleury advises Zola for Le Docteur Pascal (1893) and confides his admiration in an article in Le Figaro, in 1896. Very 'fashionable' among the 'intellectuals' (according to Victor Segalen), the young physician also appears in the list of symbolist authors - alongside Paul Adam, Henri de Régnier and Gustave Kahn - in an essay by André Barre, in 1911") (Lola Kheyar Stibler)
First edition, one of 35 numbered copies on deluxe paper, the only deluxe copies.
Rare and handsome copy.
First edition.
Former owner's name on upper left corner of title page, spine wrinkled.
Our copy exceptionally contains signatures of several members of the editorial committee of the Association des déportées et internées de la Résistance or former deportees to the Ravensbrück camp, including: Renée Mirande-Laval, Jacqueline Souchère-Richet, Hélène Renal, Rose Guérin, Jacqueline Rigault, Simone Gournay, Marie-Antoinette Allemandi-Clastres, some of whom have added their deportee registration number below their signatures.
First edition, one of 70 numbered copies on pure thread paper, ours being one of 15 hors commerce copies lettered under Ingres covers, deluxe copies after 2 reimposed on pure thread laid paper hors commerce reserved for Jacques Hébertot and 13 holland paper copies.
Minor marginal tears of no consequence to the covers.
Handsome and rare copy of this response by Albert Camus to Jean-Paul Sartre's "Les mains sales".
First edition in French, one of 15 numbered copies on pure thread paper, the only deluxe copies.
Spine and boards slightly and marginally sunned, otherwise handsome copy.
First edition, one of 12 numbered copies on hollande paper, the only large paper copies.
Full red shagreen binding, spine with three raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and gilt cartouche enriched with black typographic motifs, marbled paper endpapers and pastedowns, bookplate affixed to pastedown, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, other edges uncut.
Foxing to some uncut edges.
Autograph inscription signed by Georges Clemenceau to Monsieur Henry Leyret, political and judicial chronicler and editor at L'Aurore.
First edition, printed in a small number on Dutch paper.
Spine and covers lightly sunned, small tears to the spine, final endpapers browned.
Speeches by M. Chaumié, Anatole France and Abel Hermant.
Autograph inscription signed by Eugène Fasquelle to Marcel Batilliat, whose name he misspelled: "à M. Marcel Batillat."
The Symbolist novelist Marcel Batilliat was a close friend of Émile Zola and campaigned to preserve the memory of the author of the Rougon-Macquart cycle.
First edition, one of the press service copies.
Two small tears at the foot of the spine, two traces of adhesive tape having caused two small losses of paper to the versos of the boards.
.
First edition, with no deluxe paper copies issued, this being one of the publisher's review copies.
Inscribed copy, dated and signed by Georges Dumézil to Alfred Ernoul.
First edition, with no deluxe paper copies issued.
Spine and covers lightly and marginally sunned, as is often the case, with a small loss at the foot of the spine.
A scarce and pleasing copy, considering the poor quality of the paper.
First edition of this lecture delivered to the Groupe d'Etude Sociales de Montpellier, for which no deluxe paper copies were issued.
A rare and pleasing copy.
Author's signed presentation inscription by Dr R. Vargas at the head of the upper cover: "A l'auteur de l' "Amour libre" affecteux hommage mon camarade, Dr Vargas (chez Mr Galtié Bd Henri IV, 18, Montpellier.)
First edition, one of 822 numbered copies on pur fil paper, the only deluxe paper issue after 109 reimposed copies.
A pleasing copy despite two small areas of sunning at the head and foot of the spine.
Rare first edition.
Small tears and losses to the head and foot of the spine, spine and covers marginally sunned.
Signed autograph inscription from Jacques Mesnil to Charles Albert.
Some manuscript corrections and reading marks in blue pencil in the margins of certain paragraphs.
First edition printed in a small run by the French Communist Party.
Minor, unobtrusive spotting to the lower cover, which also bears a small hole with loss of two letters on the verso.
A rare and pleasing copy.
New edition, partly original as revised and expanded.
Vertical creasing to the upper cover, a pleasant copy.
Illustrated with a photographic portrait of the author as frontispiece, together with three further plates.
Scarce pamphlet issued by the relief committee for political prisoners of the Russian penal camps in Grenoble.
First edition, with no deluxe paper copies issued.
Two small, insignificant tears at the head and foot of a joint.
A pleasant copy.
First edition, with no deluxe paper copies issued.
Two small, unobtrusive tears at the head and foot of a joint.
A scarce and pleasing copy.
Original albumen print photograph of Charles de Gaulle, wearing the Cross of Lorraine and the insignia of the Free French Forces, likely taken shortly after the Liberation. Studio stamp of Harcourt Paris within the photograph, under mat and light wood frame, with some minor damage to the frame.
Signed and inscribed by Charles de Gaulle below the portrait: "A M. Jules Guichet / Bien amicalement ! / 19.2.58 / C. de Gaulle".
Rare first edition.
Small tears to the slightly sunned spine and to the margins of the covers.
First edition printed in a small number of copies.
A rare and pleasing copy.
First edition of this lecture delivered before the Russian Workers’ Society in Paris on 15 January 1887.
Minor corner losses to the boards, not affecting the integrity of the copy.
Rare.
Definitive edition.
Spine slightly sunned and a little cocked, a few spots to the boards.
Signed autograph inscription from Vercors to François Triboudeau.
First edition for which no deluxe paper copies were issued.
Spine slightly sunned with small losses at head and foot, a slight marginal loss and a transverse crease to the lower cover.
A rare copy of Alexandra David-Néel's second work.
First edition of the French translation and adaptation prepared by Edmond Haraucourt, one of 10 numbered copies on Holland paper, the only deluxe paper issue.
Bradel binding in half tobacco percaline, smooth spine decorated with a gilt floral motif, date and double gilt fillet at foot, hazelnut shagreen title label showing some rubbing, marbled paper boards, wrappers with small marginal losses at corners and spine preserved, contemporary binding.
A few small foxing spots.
Music by Gabriel Fauré.
First edition adorned with illustrations and photographs.
Minor losses without seriousness at the foot of a few leaves.
An attractive and rare copy.
Texts by Jean Jaurès, Walt Whitman among others.
A further compilation bringing together several successes of the troubadour from Sète, including "Le temps ne fait rien à l'affaire", "Dans l'eau de la claire fontaine", "La traîtresse", "La ballade des cimetières"; "La complainte des filles de joie", "Tonton Nestor - La noce de Jeannette", "Le temps passé" and "La fille à cent sous".
A pleasant copy despite very slight rubbing to the margins of the sleeve.
A name and an initial in blue ballpoint pen at the head of the second panel of the sleeve.
Manuscript signature of Georges Brassens in the left margin of the front panel of the sleeve.
Rare first edition.
Spine and boards slightly and marginally sunned, without seriousness.
First edition, one of 2,000 numbered copies on alfa paper.
Manuscript initials at the head of the upper cover and of the title page serving as an ex-libris.
A pleasant copy.
