[DESBORDES-VALMORE] THIERS, Adolphe (1797-1877)

[DESBORDES-VALMORE] THIERS, Adolphe (1797-1877)

Autograph letter signed « A. Thiers » to Edmond Cavé
N.p., 13 Feb. 1840, 2 p. in-8°
Stamp of Robert de Montesquiou (with his cipher) in the upper left corner.
Scattered foxing

An admirer of Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, Thiers attempts to secure a position for her with the head of the Fine Arts division at the Ministry of the Interior

« Mon cher Cavé,
Je sais l’intérêt que vous portez à Madᵐᵉ Valmore. Je veux cependant vous le rappeler de nouveau, et vous prier de faire pour elle tout ce que vous pourrez. Vous savez combien elle est digne de toute la bienveillance du gouvernement par sa valeur et sa qualité personnelle. Vous savez que c’est la personne du monde la plus respectable, et que si on ne lui assure une position à Paris, elle ira vivre malheureusement en province sans pouvoir ni élever son enfant, ni mettre sa valeur à profit. Écoutez-la donc avec votre ancienne bonté pour elle, et faites tout ce qui sera possible.
Adieu, mille compliments bien sincères et bien affectueux.
A Thiers »

Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, originally from Douai, began her artistic career with a brief stint in theater during the Empire. However, it was through Romantic poetry that her true genius was revealed, making her a central figure among her contemporaries. The numerous stylistic innovations in her poetry had a significant influence on the Parnassian and Symbolist poets who followed her. Nearly thirty years after her death, she was sanctified as a “cursed” poet by Verlaine in the second edition of his “Poètes Maudits,” published in 1888.

Robert de Montesquiou’s admiration for Desbordes-Valmore is well known. As a collector of her manuscripts and all testimonies of her life, the society poet dedicated a brilliant study to her in 1894, published by Lemerre: “Félicité – Étude sur la poësie de Marceline Desbordes-Valmore.” Montesquiou was also part of the collective effort for “Le Monument de Marceline Desbordes-Valmore” (Crépin, 1896), for which he wrote a remarkable speech as President of the Committee. A fervent defender of her memory, he also took care of the poet’s grave at the Montmartre Cemetery.