HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

Autograph letter signed « Victor Hugo » to M. Lafeuillade
Paris, 12 8bre [October] [1873], 1 p. 1/2 in-8° on blue paper
Tears on folds, small hole on second page (without affecting the text)
Autograph envelope included (stamped)

Hugo refuses all royalties for the publication of his poem La Libération du territoire

« Mon honorable concitoyen,
J’accepte avec émotion le don glorieux que vous m’annoncez. On peut le faire déposer chez moi 20, r. Drouot. Je remercie les donateurs du plus profond de mon âme.
Dites-le-leur en mon nom, je vous prie.
L’argent produit par la vente du poème La Libération du territoire ne passera pas par mes mains ; il sera déposé directement dans la caisse de secours des Alsaciens-Lorrains. Je transmettrai, si l’occasion m’en est offerte, aux administrateurs de cette caisse, votre recommandation honorable pour M. Schalek.
Recevez mon plus cordial serrement de main.
Victor Hugo »

Completed on August 31, 1873, La Libération du territoire was published as a brochure by Michel Lévy frères on September 16, 1873, the day of the “liberation of the territory,” (an allusion to the evacuation of German troops after advance payment of war compensation). The first part of the poem was published the following day on the front page of the newspaper Le Rappel. 23,986 copies of this brochure were sold, bringing in a total of 11,993 francs. Once the reimbursement of manufacturing costs was deducted, 4,506.30 francs remained, which went, equally divided (1,502.10 francs each) to three relief societies for the benefit of the Alsatians-Lorrainers: the one chaired by Mr. Crémieux, the one chaired by Mr. d’Haussonville, and the one on Boulevard Magenta. As he confirms in this letter, Hugo, at the height of his glory, refused all royalties at the time of publication.
The poem was then published in Actes et paroles – Depuis l’exil [second part, XVI] in 1876. We have not found any trace of this Mr. Schalek.