Arts & Literature

[BAUDELAIRE] CARJAT, Étienne (1828-1906)

Period albumen print
[Paris, between late 1861 and early 1862]. Wet stamp « Et. Carjat »

Étienne Carjat’s masterpiece, the only known period print

[BAUDELAIRE] FLAUBERT, Gustave (1821-1880)

Autograph letter signed « Gve Flaubert » to Jules Sandeau
Croisset, 26 January [1862], 2 p. in-8 on blue laid paper

« Yesterday I received a letter from Baudelaire inviting me to ask for your voice for his candidacy to the Academy »

[BAUDELAIRE] VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)

Autograph letter signed twice « Paul Verlaine » to Léon Deschamps
Paris, 23rd August 1892, 3 p. in-12° on bi-folio

« Baudelaire was my dearest fanaticism and is, that is to say, will remain one of my greatest admiration »

[BAUDELAIRE] VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)

Autograph letter signed « Paul Verlaine » to Léon Deschamps
Paris, 19th October 1890, 1 p. in-8°

« I had accompanied, very young and all obscure as I was, the coffin of Baudelaire »

[BAUDELAIRE] ZOLA, Émile (1840-1902)

Autograph letter signed « Emile Zola » [to Léon Deschamps]
Paris, 20th March 1893, 1 p. in-8° on laid paper

« A few usual banal lines about Baudelaire… »

[CAMUS] CHAR, René (1907-1988)

Autograph letter signed « René Char » to Marianne Oswald
N.p, 15th March, 2 p. in-8°

« Above all, we must talk about Albert and the abyssal emptiness that his disappearance caused. It is up to friendship to bloom this void »

[CÉLINE] Capitaine Schneider & Colonel Blacque-Belair

Two autograph cards signed (Ledringhem, 2 & 27 Dec. 1914)
Autograph cards signed « Schneider » and « Colonel Blacque-Belair »

« I was happy to have been able to get your son the medal he deserved less for his wound than for his courage »

[CHAR] ARAGON, Louis (1897-1982)

Autograph letter signed « Aragon » (draft), to René Char
[Paris, 10th August 1946], 1 p. 1/2 in-4°

« I do not accept to be lectured, I admit even less that it is claimed to be given to Esla. And the Olympian tone of your letter proves to me that if there are some who get lost, it is only in the image of kicking the ass »

[DELACROIX] DEGAS, Edgar (1834-1917)

Autograph letter signed “Degas” to collector Montagnac
Np, 27 June [18]95, 2 pages in-8°

“I pay you as follow: three pastels from me”

[DELACROIX] SAND, George (1804-1876)

Autograph letter signed « G.S. » to Eugène Delacroix
[Paris] Postal mark [23rd December 1841], 1 p. 1/2 in-8°

« I saw your femmes d’Alger »

[DELACROIX] SAND, George (1804-1876)

Autograph letter signed « G.S. » to Eugène Delacroix
[Nohant, 13 August 1843], 4 p. in-8°, autograph address on fourth folio

« I no longer exist, I told you. It’s been three years since I died, having committed suicide voluntarily to prevent myself from dying and not to drag a ridiculous agony »

[DELACROIX] SAND, George (1804-1876)

Autograph letter signed « GS » to Eugène Delacroix
[Paris, c. 1842], 1 p. in-8, autograph address on verso « Delacroix »

« If you can come and dine with us at Mrs. Marliani’s… »

[DELACROIX] SAND, George (1804-1876)

Two autograph letters  signed « GS » to Eugène Delacroix
[Nohant, 6 & 7 July 1842], 3 p. in-8° in total

« I dreamed of you all night »

[DUMAS] FERRIER, Ida (1811-1859)

Autograph letter signed “Ida”
[Between 1840 & 1844] Saturday, 1/2 p. in-12

“I had instructed Alexandre to present them to you, but I believe that he has forgotten my committee”

[FLAUBERT] Paul NADAR (1856-1939)

Late print showing Flaubert in bust
[Paris, c. 1910], cabinet format mounted thick cardboard

Scarce and legendary portrait of Flaubert by Nadar

[GANDHI] ROLLAND, Romain (1866-1944)

Autograph letter signed « Romain Rolland » to Louis Chazai
Villeneuve (Vaud) [Switzerland], 30th January 1924, 2 p.^1/2 in-8°

« I am sending you my most recent book on Mahatma Gandhi, this extraordinary man who is stirring up the new Asia, this new Christ »

[HUGO, Victor] Adèle Foucher & Auguste Vacquerie

Period photographs on albumen paper
Adèle Foucher – Auguste Vacquerie

Beautiful original prints from Victor Hugo’s inner circle

[HUGO] BERTALL (1820-1882)

Original photographe of Victor Hugo by Bertall
N.p.n.d [Brussels, 1867], carte-de-visite format

Elegant portrait of the poet during his exile

[HUGO] DESBORDES-VALMORE, Marceline (1786-1859)

Autograph letter signed « Marceline Desbordes-Valmore » to Victor Hugo
N.p.n.d, [Paris, after 1840], 2 p. in-8° in black ink

« It is my fate to never dare to write except to your heart and to always knock there with a prayer »

[HUGO] DROUET, Juliette (1806-1883)

Autograph letter signed « Juliette » to Victor Hugo
N.p [Paris], 9th December [1846], « Wednesday morning, 10 h ½ », 4 p. in-4°

« You have omitted nothing, forgotten nothing, disdained nothing. And all this in your most beautiful style and sublime poetry »

[HUGO] Juliette DROUET (1806-1883)

Autograph letter signed « Juliette » to Victor Hugo
[Paris], 16th April [1847], 4 pp. in-8°

« I spend my life desiring you, regretting you and trembling »

[HUGO] Juliette DROUET (1806-1883)

Autograph letter to Victor Hugo
Paris, 20th April [18]77, 4 pp. in-24°

« My opinion is to delight you in everything and always and to adore you on both knees »

[HUGO] Juliette DROUET (1806-1883)

Autograph letter signed « Juliette » to Victor Hugo
N.p, 12 February [1849], 4 pp. in-8°

« I like the violent and expeditious genre »

[HUGO] NADAR, Félix Tournachon, dit (1820-1910)

Original photographe in cabinet format
[Paris, 23rd May 1885], Cabinet format: 10 x 16,50 cm

Moving portrait of the great man on his deathbed by Nadar

[HUGO] QUINET, Alexandre (1836-1900)

Original photography of Victor Hugo by Alexandre Quinet
[Veules-les-Roses, c. 1882], 11,8 x 16,4 cm

Victor Hugo’s only period print at Veules-les-Roses, at his friend’s Paul Meurice

[HUGO] VACQUERIE, Auguste (1819-1895)

Period albumen prints in stereoscopic view
[Jersey, c. 1853-1855], 7,5 x 6,5 cm

Hugo in stereo

[HUYSMANS] ANONYMOUS

[Paris, c. 1890], original photographic portrait
Period film print (11,8 x 16,1 cm)

An elegant portrait of the writer at home, sitting by his fireplace, his cat on his lap

[JARRY] QUENEAU, Raymond (1903-1976)

Autograph letter signed « Queneau » [to Michel Arrivé]
N.p, 9th August 1964, 1 p. in 8vo, NRF letterhead

“There is a chance […] so that a carefully drawn up plan by you leads to the realization of a Jarry volume in this honored collection”

[LAMARTINE] LAMARTINE (de), Valentine (1821-1894)

Autograph letter signed « Valentine de Lamartine » to Victor de Laprade
Paris, 31st May 1872, 4 pp. in-8° on mourning paper

« Thank you, thank you for thus satisfying yourself in my work, the last worship that I can still render to the One who has been the Happiness and glory of my life. »

[LISZT] PLEYEL, Marie (1811-1875)

Autograph letter signed « M. Pleyel » [to Louis Brandus?]
Brussels, n.d « 15th January » [after 1865], 1 p. in-8°

« Will you think me too indiscreet if I ask you to send me Liszt’s piece on the Indian march of the Africaine… »

[MAILLOL] ROLLAND, Romain (1866-1944)

Autograph letter signed « Romain Rolland » to an art review director
Villeneuve (Vaud) [Switzerland], 15 novembre 1929, 2 p. in-8°

« I’m far too busy with my creation to be able to write articles about art at the moment »

[MALLARMÉ] VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)

Les Hommes d’Aujourd’hui
First edition [1885], n°296, 4 pp. in-4°

Very scarce proof copy, depicting Mallarmé as a faun, a pan flute in his hands

[MANET] DAUDET, Léon (1867-1942)

Autograph manuscript signed « Léon Daudet »
N.p.n.d [Paris, June 1932], 4 pp. large in-4°

« Manet is the beauty of colour, the celebration of the decomposition of light through the prism »

[MAUPASSANT] DE VAUX, Charles Devaux, dit le baron (1843-1915)

Autograph letter signed « Bᴼⁿ de Vaux » to Robert Pinchon
Paris, 14 9bre [November] 1895, 1 p. in-8° on light blue paper

« The memory of our good days at Maupassant’s is still in my mind »

[MUSSET] SAINTE-BEUVE, Charles-Augustin (1804-1869)

Autograph letter signed « Ste Beuve » to Auguste Lacaussade
N.p.n.d, « this 21st July », 1 p. in-8° on creamy paper

« Musset should not be judged until after having reread Byron. Then one would have the true feeling of insults and distances »

[NAPOLEON] DAVOUT, Louis-Nicolas (1770-1823)

Autograph letter signed « L Davout » to his wife, Aimée Leclerc
Osterode [current Ostróda in Poland], 16 April [1807], 6 p. in-4°

« We do not know here whether the peaceful intentions of our emperor will prevail over the intrigues of our eternal enemies, but in any case we are more able than ever to make them triumph by our arms »

[NERVAL] COLON, Jenny (1808-1842)

Autograph letter signed “Jenny” to her friend Jouslin de la Salle
N.p.n.d, 1 p. in-8 embossed to her initials

“Were you able to decipher William’s letter? As for me, I have nothing but one word is that he wanted to leave…”

[NIETZSCHE] VALÉRY, Paul (1871-1945)

Autograph letter (draft) to count Guy de Pourtalès
S.l, “Saturday 16 9^bre [November] [19]29″, 2 p. in-8°

« The eternal return is only music »

[PROUST] BOYER, Paul (1861-1952)

Original photograph by Paul Boyer
Period albumin print (c. 1891). Carte-de-visite format (90 x 58 mm)

Very scarce original photograph of young Marcel Proust

[PROUST] DAUDET, Alphonse (1840-1897)

Autograph carte-de-visite signed « A.D. » [to Gaston Calmette]
N.p.n.d. [Paris, evening of the 6 of February 1897], 1 p. in-24°

« The meeting between Marcel Proust and Lorrain »

[RIMBAUD] CHAR, René (1907-1988)

Autograph letter signed « René Char » to Marianne Oswald
L’Isle [sur-la-Sorgue], 25 April [19]68, 1 p. 1/4 in-8°

« More than ever I understand Rimbaud to have “gone away”…»

[RIMBAUD] VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)

Autograph poem signed « Paul Verlaine »
London, 1873, 1 p. in-8°, on laid paper

« O le feu du ciel sur cette ville de la Bible ! »

[RIMBAUD] VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)

Les Hommes d’Aujourd’hui 
Original edition, n°318, 4 pp. in-4°

Proof copy with autograph corrections by Verlaine

[RIMBAUD] VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)

Autograph letter signed « Votre P Verlaine » to l’abbé Louis Le Cardonnel
Paris, 9 Feb[ruary] [18]86, 2 p. 1/4 in-8° on mourning paper

« I don’t really know where I’m going, it’s called not living anymore »

[ROPS] DANDOY, Héliodore (1831-1909)

Period albumen print
[Liège, c. July 1893], cabinet format

Precious unpublished portrait of the artist

[RUBINSTEIN, Anton] Julius Cornelius SCHAARWÄCHTER (1847-1904)

Portrait of Anton Rubinstein, vintage albumen print
[Berlin, c. 1847], carte-de-visite format

Elegant portrait of the young Russian composer and prodigy

[SATIE] JACOB, Max (1876-1944)

Autograph letter signed twice to the Salacrou couple
N.p.n.d [4th july 1925], 2 p. in-8°

« Oh! Satie! Nightmare! »

[SCHUMANN, Clara] Fritz LUCKHARDT (1843-1894)

Portrait of Clara Wieck-Schumann, vintage albumen print
[Vienna, c. 1870], carte-de-visite format

Famous portrait of Clara Wieck-Schumann by Fritz Luckhardt

[TCHAIKOVSKY] LORENS, Alfred (1830-1896)

Original photography by Alfred Lorens, S. Petersbourg
Period albumen print [c. 1874], carte-de-visite format

Superb portrait of the Russian composer, aged 33

[VALÉRY, Paul] Henri MANUEL (1874-1947)

Portrait of Paul Valéry, period film print
[Paris, c. 20’s], cabinet format

Handsome and scarce portrait of Paul Valéry by Henri Manuel

[VAN GOGH] BERNARD, Émile (1868-1941)

Les Hommes d’Aujourd’hui
First edition [1891], n°390, 4 pp. in-4°

Extremely rare original copy of the issue dedicated to Van Gogh

[VERLAINE] KRANTZ, Eugénie (18–/1897)

Autograph letter signed several times “Eugénie Krantz” to Edmond Lepelletier
Paris 29th January [1896], 4 p. in-12

Hospitalized a few days after Verlaine’s death and abandoned by all, Eugénie Krantz calls for desperate help

[VERLAINE] VERLAINE, Jeanne (18–/18–)

Autograph letter signed “J. Verlaine” to a gentleman (probably Edmond Lepelletier)
Rue Montholon [Paris], circa 1889, 2 pp. in-8

“I would assure you that, when he came to the Broussais hospital to visit Mr. Verlaine, he asked me for a way to sue his publisher Vanier against whom he was extremely irritated.”

[VERLAINE] WEGENER, Otto (1849-1924)

Original photograph of Paul Verlaine by Otto Wegener
[Paris, 1893], cabinet format (10,8 x 16,8 cm)

Famous portrait of the poet in preparation of his candidacy for the Académie Française

[ZOLA] FLAUBERT, Gustave (1821-1880)

Two autograph letters signed « Gve Flaubert » to Émile Zola
[Croisset, 2th May and 3rd June 1874], 5 pp. in-8°

« It’s very strong! my good man! I read it all at once, and I am giddy with it »

[ZOLA] FLAUBERT, Gustave, (1821-1880)

Autograph letter signed « Gus Flaubert » to Émile Zola
[Croisset, 25th July 1876], 3 p. in-8°

« I received yesterday from our young friend Maupassant a very pleasant epistle, and full of the detail of his lust – on a boat, with a fat woman »

APOLLINAIRE, Guillaume (1880-1918)

Epistolary autograph poem signed « Guillaume Apollinaire », to André Billy
Nîmes, 20th March 1915, 1 p. in-8° on Café Tortoni’s letterhead

« On his beautiful forehead shines a flame / In his hand blooms a twig »

APOLLINAIRE, Guillaume (1880-1918)

First draft manuscript for the poem “Le Voyageur”, from the poem collection Alcools
N.p.n.d [c. 1909-1910], 2 p. in-4to, black ink, multiple corrections

« Deux matelots qui ne s’étaient jamais quittés »

APOLLINAIRE, Jacqueline, born Kolb (1891-1967)

Two autograph letters signed « Jacqueline » to Angelika de Kostrowitsky
[Paris, 4th and 6th January 1918], 2 p. in-8°

« The local major sent him to the hospital where he was trepanned »

ARAGON, Louis (1897-1982)

Autograph poem signed « Aragon »
[Paris], 25 January [1945], 2 p. in-4°

« My love, I was in your arms »

ARAGON, Louis (1897-1982)

Autograph poem: Sans mot dire
N.p.n.d [late 1919], 1 p. in-8°

« My pain is none of your business »

ARAGON, Louis (1897-1982)

Autograph manuscript on his vision of poetry
N.p.n.d [50s], 6 pp. in-4°

« However, Arthur Rimbaud… »

ARAGON, Louis (1897-1982)

Autograph letter signed « Aragon » [to Elisabeth de Clermont-Tonnerre]
N.p.n.d, [1950], 1 p. in-4°

« Excuse me, Madam, for not wanting to have lunch with Thomas Mann… »

ARAGON, Louis (1897-1982)

Autograph letter signed « Aragon » [to Philippe Hériat]
N.p.n.d [Paris, 18th November 1968], 1 p. in-4°

« You know I was planning to come this Monday… and try to overlook an incident whose consequences were unpleasant, to say the least »

ARTAUD, Antonin (1896-1948)

Autograph letter signed « Antonin Artaud » to his sister Marie-Ange Malausséna
Espalion, 7th April 1946, 2 pages in-8

« You would do me a great service by sending me 4 or 5 tubes »

ARTAUD, Antonin (1896-1948)

Autograph letter signed “Antonin Artaud” to his sister Marie-Ange Malausséna
Espalion, 11th April 1946, 4 pages in-8

“High-dose heroin does not cause addiction when it is of good quality”

ARTAUD, Antonin (1896-1948)

Autograph letter signed « Antonin Artaud » to Adrienne Monnier
Psychiatric Hospital of Ville-Evrard, 4th March 1939, 2 p. in-4° with enveloppe

« This story of look-alikes is as old as centuries, and all the great characters throughout history have found real doubles »

BALZAC (de), Honoré (1799-1850)

Autograph letter signed « de Balzac » to Charles Motte
[Paris], « 8 8bre » [October 1831], 2 p. in-8°

« Let me add seriously that I offer you my book »

BARBARA, Monique Serf, dite (1930-1997)

Autograph letter signed « Barbara » to Jean [Poissonnier]
N.p.n.d [Amsterdam, c. 1976], 1 p. 1/2 in-8°, Apollo Hotel letterhead

« It’s a lot of light and shadow, it’s far, far away… »

BARBARA, Monique Serf, dite (1930-1997)

Autograph letter signed « Barbara » to Jean [Poissonnier]
N.p.n.d, 1 p. in-8°

« I am silent, struggling in dark dramas »

BARBÈS, Armand (1809-1870)

Autograph letter signed « A. Barbès » a republican writer in exile
The Hague, 6th February [18]69, 3 p. in-8° on blue laid paper

« It is abominable that France should have found herself in the direction of a tyranny capable of imprinting such a stain on its history! »

BAUDELAIRE, Charles (1821-1867)

Autograph letter signed « C.B. » to his mother, Madame Aupick
[Brussels], « Monday 13th November 1865 », 4 p. in-8°

« I feel forgotten. I am sad. I’m no longer good for anything. I’m bored to death »

BAUDELAIRE, Charles (1821-1867)

Autograph letter signed « Charles » to his mother, Madame Aupick
[Paris], « Wednesday » [28th October 1863], 1 p. in-8°

« I distrust the Belgians »

BAUDELAIRE, Charles (1821-1867)

Autograph letter signed « Charles » to his mother, Madame Aupick
[Paris], 1^st July 1853, 3 p. in-8°

« What is quite certain is that I no longer want to give anything to chance in my life, and that I claim that the will occupies the full extent of it »

BAUDELAIRE, Charles (1821-1867)

[Second notice on] Pierre Dupont – Corrected proof
[Paris] 6th June 1861 [stamped], 11 p. in-8vo bradel

“The public was so tired of Victor Hugo’s tireless faculties, his indestructible beauties”

BAUDELAIRE, Charles (1821-1867)

Autograph letter signed « Charles Baudelaire » to Alphonse de Calonne
[Paris], 23rd February [18]64, 1 p. in-8° on blue paper

« A heavy work, I assure you, but of which I am quite happy »

BEAUMARCHAIS (de), Pierre-Augustin Caron (1732-1799)

Autograph letter signed « Beaumarchais » to comedian Préville
Paris, 31st March 1784, 2 pp. on bi-folio in-8°,watermarked laid paper

« My play isn’t a big thing ; but seeing it in the theater is the result of four years of fighting »

BEAUMARCHAIS (de), Pierre-Augustin Caron (1732-1799)

Autograph letter signed « Beaumarchais » to Pierre-Charles-Louis Baudin
N.p, « ce 15 floréal » [4th May 1797], 1 p. small in-8°

« And I, a useless man! I beg you to accept the dreams of my hat »

BEAUVOIR (de), Simone (1908-1986)

Autograph manuscript for her essay Must we burn Sade ?
N.p.n.d [1951], 7 pages in-4 on grid paper

“Sade’s eroticism is no longer just an individual attitude; it is also a challenge for society”

BEAUVOIR (de), Simone (1908-1986)

Autograph manuscript (fragments) accompanied by an autograph letter signed for La Longue Marche – Essai sur la Chine
[Paris, 1956] 15 pages in-4°, with two autograph envelopes

« China is not a political entity; I guess with joy, that it has a sky, its colors, its trees, a flesh »

BEAUVOIR (de), Simone (1908-1986)

Autograph note signed « S. de Beauvoir » to Berthe Mandinaud
[Paris, 16 July 1956], 1/4 p. in-4°

« With my thanks »

BEAUVOIR (de), Simone (1908-1986)

Autograph letter signed « S. de Beauvoir » to Berthe Mandinaud
[Paris, 17th December 1957], 1/4 p. in-4°

« With all my gratitude »

BELLMER, Hans (1902-1945)

Autograph letter signed « HB » to Joë Bousquet
Revel, Tuesday 11 Sept[ember] 1945, 1 p. in-4° on pink paper

« I write like an articulated doll »

BERGSON, Henri (1859-1941)

Autograph letter signed « H. Bergson » to Michel Georges-Michel
Saint-Cergue, 1st August 1926, 3 pp. in-8°

« There is an uninterrupted current of humour that flows through these pages and is not, it must be admitted, the characteristic of my work »

BERNARD, Émile (1868-1941)

Autograph manuscript signed « Émile Bernard »
N.p.n.d. [Sept. 1936], 10 p. in-4°

« David’s nefarious work being accomplished, Gros had died for art »

BERNSTEIN, Henry (1876-1953)

Autograph quote signed « Henry Bernstein »
S.l.n.d., 1 p. in-8° oblong

« The greatest deeds have been done in silence and solitude »

BERTRAND, Louis (1866-1941)

Autograph quote signed « Louis Bertrand »
Paris, 25 August 1937, 1 p. in-8°

« The Revolution is nothing but organized plunder and assassination »

BLIXEN, Karen (1885-1962)

Autograph letter signed « Karen Blixen » to Negley Farson
Rungstedlund, Rungsted Kyst, 20.12.1957, 3 pp. in-8°

« The greatest passion of my life has been my love for the Africans! »

BLUM, Léon (1872-1950)

Autograph letter signed « Léon Blum » to Louis-Alfred Natanson
N.p.n.d., [Paris, 14 December 1894], 3 p. 1/2 petit in-8° on cream paper

« You see, my poor Fred, we are too sensitive beings. We end up suffering even from things that are indifferent to us »

BOULEZ, Pierre (1925-2016)

Autograph card signed « PB » to André Dubois
[Cologne, 10 IX 1952], 1 p. in-8° on a postcard’s verso

« What shall I tell you about the journeys in this divine valley that Victor Hugo has not already said? »

BOURDELLE, Antoine (1861-1929)

Autograph letter signed « Bourdelle » to a friend
Paris, 12th April 1920, 2 pp. in-8°

« My technique, learned and supplemented by Rodin, is even inscribed in portraiture »

BOURDELLE, Antoine (1861-1929)

Autograph letter signed « Ant Bourdelle » [to André Fontainas]
Paris, November 1928 [in reality 25th December], 4 pp. in-4°

« The two Beethoven »

BOURDELLE, Antoine (1861-1929)

Autograph letter signed « Bourdelle » to M. Thiebaut-Sissou
Paris, 9th March 1920, 1 p. in-8°

« I won’t be exhibiting at the show, or very little. I am at great work and that alone binds me »

BOUSQUET, Joë (1897-1950)

6 autograph letters signed, all adressed to Variétés journal
Carcassonne, 1946-1947, 21 pages in-8

« Only the future could give the value of the link I want to see between color and its cosmic reality »

BRAQUE, Georges (1882-1963)

Autograph letter signed « Georges Braque », to Daniel Wallard
N.p, 19th February 19[44], 4 p. in-12°

« I will now get back to work, of which I have the violent desire »

BRASILLACH, Robert (1909-1945)

Autograph letter signed « Robert Brasillach » to Thierry Maulnier
[Prison de Fresnes], 30 January 1945, 1 p. in-8°

« Believe that all this keeps me warm company in my cell and makes me neglect the iron chains »

BRASILLACH, Robert (1909-1945)

Autograph letter signed « Robert Brasillach » to Thierry Maulnier
[Paris, late 1930s], 1 p. in-8°

« Live a slave or die! »

BUKOWSKI, Charles (1920-1994)

Letter signed « Buk » to Raphaël Sorin
N.p, 17 Oct[ober] 1977, 1 p. in-4°

« I am punching it out, almost madly… drinking 2 to 3 bottles of wine a night, playing the horses during the day, fighting with my girlfriend off and on »

CAILLEBOTTE, Gustave (1848-1894)

Autograph letter signed « G Caillebotte » to Claude Monet
S.l.n.d, Friday [Petit-Gennevilliers, after 1887], 1 p. in-8°

« Effet extraordinaire en masse »

CAILLEBOTTE, Gustave (1848-1894)

Autograph letter signed « G Caillebotte » to Claude Monet 
N.p.n.d, Friday [Petit-Gennevilliers, after 1887 ?], 3 pp. in-8°

« I have covered a lot of canvases and wasted a lot of colour »

CARROLL, Lewis (1832-1898)

Autograph letter signed « C.L. Dodgson » to Mr Burton
Eastbourne, Aug[ust] 25 [18]77, 2 p. in-12° with pink ink

« I hope you will excuse the liberty… I took a few days ago in making friends with your little daughter »

CASSATT, Mary (1844-1926)

Autograph letter signed « Mary Cassatt » to Achille Segard
Villa Angeletto – Grasse, 14th April [1913], 6 p. in-8° on mourning paper

« And then I wanted to be such a great painter, Titian or Rembrandt, just that… »

CÉLINE, Louis Ferdinand (1894-1961)

Autograph manuscript (fragment) for his novel Nord
S.l.n.d [Meudon, entre 1957 et 1859], 1 p. in-4°

« Et vlang ! referme la lourde ! malades ?.. je crois pas… mais au moins nous voici fixés ! »

CÉLINE, Louis-Ferdinand (1894-1961)

Autograph letter (fragment ?) [to Robert le Vigan]
N.p.n.d [c. 1955], 1 p.^1/2  in-4°

« Neither Jews, nor blacks, nor whites, nor Indians exist in the face of yellow miscegenation »

CÉLINE, Louis-Ferdinand (1894-1961)

Autograph letter signed « LD » to Jean-Gabriel Daragnès
Copenhagen, 19th March [19]47, 2 p. in-4°

« Everything eventually comes to light »

CÉLINE, Louis-Ferdinand (1894-1961)

Autograph letter signed « Louis » to his wife Lucette Destouches
[Vestre Faengsel Prison, Copenhagen], 16 February [194]6, 2 p. in-folio

« I will soon be found to be the Main Person responsible for all the Jewish martyrs… »

CÉLINE, Louis-Ferdinand (1894-1961)

Autograph letter signed « LF » to Jean-Gabriel Daragnès
N.p, [Danemark], « le Dimanche » [25th June 1950], 4 p. in-folio

« I think we’re going to get back on a lease with life »

CÉLINE, Louis-Ferdinand (1894-1961)

Period film print
[Winter 1944, Berlin area?], 5,9 x 9 cm

Vintage print of the writer with autograph annotation

CÉLINE, Louis-Ferdinand (1894-1961)

Autograph postcard to his parents
[Flanders], 16 Oct[ober] [19]14 (postmark), 2 pages in-12°

« This cursed war »

CÉLINE, Louis-Ferdinand (1894-1961)

Autograph letter signed twice, « Des » and « Louis », to his wife Lucette
Københavns Fængsler’s prison, 22nd August 1946, 2 pp. in-4°

« Unfortunately, I no longer have enough years, months to live to puke all that I have swallowed in these months of resentment, humiliation and hatred »

CÉLINE, Louis-Ferdinand (1894-1961)

Autograph letter signed « LFCéline » to his friends Descaves
Copenhagen, 7th July [1947], (c/o Mikkelsen), 2 pages in-folio

« The country of France does not deserve its writers… »

CENDRARS, Blaise (1887-1961)

Autograph letter signed « Blaise » to Louis Brun
[Biarritz], 7th January 1933, 2 p. in-4to with envelope

« I’m not writing for an award »

CHAR, René (1907-1988)

Autograph letter signed « René Char » [to Marianne Oswald]
L’Isle-sur-Sorgue, 15th Oct[ober] [19]49, 1 p. in-4°

« I’m always ill, having no envy for my books done or to be done. Life is constantly oscillating between fire and dung. »

CHAR, René (1907-1988)

Autograph letter signed « R. Char » to Marianne Oswald
N.p.n.d, 2 p. in-8°

« Read my poems, they are composed for this, but do not ask me to show myself, nor to flaunt my poetic existence »

CHARPENTIER, Gustave (1860-1956)

Autograph musical quote signed « Gustave Charpentier »
N.p., July 1936, 1 p. in-4°

« Louise, Act 1, Scene 3… »

CHASSERIAU, Théodore (1819-1856)

Autograph letter signed “Thre Chasseriau” to M. Lanthy
Wednesday at noon [14 September 1853], 1 p. in-8 with autograph address

“I am very embarrassed at the moment”

CHATEAUBRIAND (de), François-René (1768-1848)

Autograph letter signed “Chateaubriand” to a lady
S.l, 4 February 1822, 1 p. 1/4 in-8

“Madam, I will be very happy to take care of the box for London”

CHATEAUBRIAND (de), François-René (1768-1848)

Autograph letter signed « Le V^te de Chateaubriand » to Abel
Paris, 29th 7bre [September] 1815, 4 pp. in-8°

« I demanded freedom of thought, which brought Buonaparte’s fury and his new threats to have me shot »

CHATEAUBRIAND (de), François-René (1768-1848)

Autograph letter signed « C » [to Louis de Fontanes ?]
[La Vallée-aux-Loups] 9 7^bre [September] 1813, 3 p. in-8°

« I am as old as Herod. I only dream of the history of the past. I’m only in love with Agnès Sorel »

CHATEAUBRIAND (de), François-René (1768-1848)

Autograph letter signed « Chateaubriand » [to Hippolyte La Morvonnais ?]
Paris, 18 July 1834, 2 p. in-8° à l’encre noire

« Soon I will be lying on my little island of sand and I will hear the sound of your footsteps and the waves »

CHATEAUBRIAND (de), François-René (1768-1848)

Autograph letter to Léonce de Lavergne
Paris, 6th August 1838, 3 p. 1/2 small in-4° on bifolio

« I walked on this beach where Bonaparte took his last step »

CLAUDEL, Paul (1868-1955)

Autograph manuscript signed « Paul Claudel »
N.p, 4th January 1951, 2 p. in-4°

« Joan is tied to her pole which represents faith. She is rooted in an immutable certainty »

CLAUDEL, Paul (1868-1955)

Autograph letter signed « P. Cl. » [to Joseph Desclausais]
W[ashington], 15th March 1933, 3 p. 1/4 large in-8°

« I thought you were theological, and I see that you know less than a 12-year-old »

COCTEAU, Jean (1889-1963)

Two autograph letters signed « Jean Cocteau » to Henri Duvernois
N.p.n.d, c. 1912, 2 p. in-4°

« Not an article about “Dance”. It’s funny! »

COCTEAU, Jean (1889-1963)

Autograph letter signed “Ton Jean” to Marianne
Milly, Monday 20th May [1958], 1 page in-4 adorned with an original drawing

“I have to do a job with Karajan at the Opera House”

COCTEAU, Jean (1889-1963)

Autograph letter signed “Jean C” to Henri Duvernois
[Ville de Monts] Indre-et-Loire, 26 September 1913, 1 p. in-8

“I have a hundred eyes to read Nounette“

COCTEAU, Jean (1889-1963)

Autograph letter signed « Jean Cocteau » to Henry de Montherlant
Milly[-la-Forêt], 1 November 1962, 1 p. in-4°

« The only strange thing is that we are under this dome which refused Chateaubriand Hugo Vigny Balzac… »

COCTEAU, Jean (1889-1963)

Autograph letter signed twice « Jean Cocteau » and « Jean » to Michaël Smithies
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, 3rd June 1956, 6 pages in-8° with envelope

« Art escapes progress »

COLETTE, Sidonie Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Autograph letter signed « Votre Colette » to the Guillermet
S.l, [15th April 1946], 2 p. in-8°

« If at least my book (L’étoile Vesper) had come out in time, you would have had it for your birthday »

COLETTE, Sidonie Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Pièce autographe signée « Colette »
S.l., mai 1937, 1 p. in-8° carrée

« Colonel, Jules-Joseph Colette’s daughter… sends you her very cordial greetings. »

COLETTE, Sidonie Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Autograph postcard signed « Colette » to Claude [Farrère]
N.p.n.d. [Paris, 28 December 1950], 1 p. small in-8°

« I’m sending you a card that will remind you a little of our younger days »

COLETTE, Sidonie Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Autograph manuscript (fragment) for La Chatte 
N.p.n.d. [early 1933], 1 p. in-4° on blue Japan paper

« Her new pride, which seemed to give credit to the next night, to the following days, was doubtless content with today’s licenses »

COLETTE, Sidonie Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Autograph letter signed « Colette » to a friend
[11th December 1949], 2 p. in-4°

« The Goncourt, my works, and my ills have turned me away from my best friends »

COLETTE, Sidonie-Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Autograph letter signed « Colette de Jouvenel » to a colleague
[Paris], n.d (between November 1916 and December 1926), 1 p. in-4°

« I only spent a few hours in Nice… »

COLETTE, Sidonie-Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Autograph letter signed « Colette de Jouvenel » to Charles Sylvestre
[Paris, 21st March 1922], 1 p. in-4° with envelope

« Apart from my relatives, no one notices that Colette was a saint! »

COLETTE, Sidonie-Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Autograph letter signed « votre Colette » to the Guillermet couple
[Paris], 24 [December 1950], 2 p. in-8° on blue paper

« My dear Guillermets, he holds a place, this Maurice! I’m making myself thin »

COLETTE, Sidonie-Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Autograph letter signed « Colette Willy » to Alfred Diard
N.p.n.d (between 1893 and 1906), 1 p. in-8°

« A box of Velvet Soap… »

COLETTE, Sidonie-Gabrielle (1873-1954)

Autograph letter signed « ta Colette » to Marguerite Moreno
[La Treille Muscate – Saint Tropez, September 1929], 4 pp. in-4°

« She has boyish shirts and young negress breasts—the most beautiful, you know. And she swims underwater like a little shark »

DALÍ, Salvador (1904-198

Original drawings and autograph poem
N.p.n.d [c. 1935], 1 p. in-8° (16 x 20,5 cm)

« I empty my evil »

DALÍ, Salvador (1904-1989)

Original silver print enriched with a signed autograph inscription
[Portlligat, 1977], 13,8 x 14,4 cm

Nice print depicting Dalí in conversation, doubly autographed by him and enriched with an original drawing

DALÍ, Salvador (1904-1989)

Period film print
[Portlligat, c. 1977] 27,3 x 19 cm

Spectacular signature of the artist on a print representing one of his most emblematic works

DAUDET, Alphonse (1840-1897)

Autograph letter signed « Alphonse Daudet » [to Timoléon Ambroy]
[Paris, c. 23rd August 1870], 4 pp. in-12°

« It is a new instinct that is being pushed into me: the patriotic instinct »

DAUDET, Alphonse (1840-1897)

Autograph carte-de-visite signed « A.D » to Gaston Calmette
N.p.n.d [Paris, between 1885 and 1897], 1 p. in-24°

« Here, my dear Calmette, is the answer requested »

DELACROIX, Eugène (1798-1863)

Autograph letter signed « E. Delacroix » to Félix Guillemardet
[Souillac], 30 8bre [October] 1820, 3 p. 1/2 large in-4°

« Goodbye sketches and studies. I miss you very much »

DELACROIX, Eugène (1798-1863)

Autograph letter signed « E Delacroix » to a unknown recipient
[Paris, 6 rue de Fürstenberg], 15 July 1863

« I am keeping the room and unable to get out »

DELEUZE, Gilles (1925-1995)

First draft autograph manuscript with corrections
N.d.n.p (c. 1985), 1 p. in-4 numbered “8”

“It is probably necessary to go back to Lukács, whose History and Class Consciousness already posed the question of a new subjectivity”

DERAIN, André (1880-1954)

Autograph letter signed « A Derain » to a gallerist
Lisieux, 31st May 1915, 1 p. in-4° on graph paper

« Since the war I have been very abandoned by the painting world, I even wonder if I will ever do paint again »

DESBORDES-VALMORE, Marceline (1786-1859)

Autograph letter signed « Marceline Valmore » to Charles Pierquin de Gembloux
[Paris], 6th June 1833, 3 pp. in-8°

« I have had the publisher give you a volume of Les Pleurs to a bookseller in Grenoble »

DESBORDES-VALMORE, Marceline (1786-1859)

Autograph poem : « Romance » [Seule au Rendez-vous]
N.p.n.d [after 1833], 1 p. 1/2 in-8°

« Ô menteur ! qui disait sa vie / Nouée au fuseau de mon sort »

DESBORDES-VALMORE, Marceline (1786-1859)

Autograph poem signed « Mᴺᵉ Valmore Desbordes »
N.p, 15th April 1841, 3 pp. large in-4°

« From there comes to you the pure flow of harmony / Transparent organ of the soul and genius »

DEVAMBEZ, André (1867-1944)

Original drawing signed
N.p.n.d. [c. 1937], 1 p. in-4° on laid paper

Charming original drawing with minimalist style

DORVAL, Marie (1798-1849)

Autograph letter signed “Marie Dorval” to a doctor friend
20 April 1825, 1 p. ½ in-8

“You seemed to want to see les Enfants d’Edouard“

DORVAL, Marie (1798-1849)

A set of twenty-two autograph letters, of which three are signed, to Alfred de Vigny
[Paris, Reims, Versailles and Rouen], 72 p. in various formats, two autograph envelopes

« All those words in your letter are so many stabs in my heart »

DOSTOEVSKY, Fyodor (1821-1881)

Period albumen portrait by Vezenberg & Co
Saint Petersburg [1879], cdv format

Very scarce portrait of the author of Crime and Punishment

DRUON, Maurice (1918-2009)

Autograph letter signed « Druon » to Thierry Maulnier
N.p., 3rd March [19]85, 2 p. in-4°

« But where are the thinkers, in the great French tradition that goes from Montaigne to Valéry? »

DUMAS (fils), Alexandre (1824-1895)

Autograph letter signed “A Dumas” to an unknown recipient
N.d.n.p [Paris], 5 pages in-8 on two double sheets

“They send me back to my Dame aux camélias, to my cocottes”

DUMAS (père), Alexandre (1802-1870)

Original photograph with autograph inscription « A. Dumas »
N.p.n.d [after 1860], c.d.v format (9,8 x 5,5 cm)

« My dear little Augustine… »

DUMAS (père), Alexandre (1802-1870)

Autographe manuscript
N.p.n.d [6th December 1854], 1 p. in-8°

« I remember in what implacable frosts and in what heroic fire this literary boast of the Emperor Napoleon was written »

DUMAS (père), Alexandre 1802-1870

Autograph letter signed « A Dumas » to the « Patriarch of Jerusalem »
S.l, 15 April [18]47, 2 p. 1/2 in-8°, with autograph envelope

« It’s only by working 18 hours a day that I can not cope with everyone, but support myself »

ÉLUARD, Paul (1895-1952)

Autograph poem signed « Paul Eluard »
N.p.n.d, 2 p. in-folio on thin green paper

« The eyelid of the sun lowers on your face »

ÉLUARD, Paul (1895-1952)

Autograph poem signed « Paul Eluard »
N.p, 1942, 1 p. in-folio (21 x 31 cm) on brown paper

« The night before his death / Was the shortest of his life »

ÉLUARD, Paul (1895-1952)

Autograph manuscript signed « Paul Eluard »
N.p.n.d [c. May 1943], 6 p. in-8°

« Will I be the one who kills / Or the one who is being killed »

ÉLUARD, Paul (1895-1952)

Autograph manuscript signed « Paul Eluard »
N.p.n.d, 1 p. in-4°

« Poetry is a reflection of the world. What I say is what I see and I must necessarily find an echo in the hearts of my fellow men »

ÉLUARD, Paul (1895-1952)

Autograph poem signed « Paul Eluard »
N.p.n.d, 1 p. in-8°

« Garcia Lorca was put to death »

ÉLUARD, Paul (1895-1952)

Autograph letter signed “Votre Eluard” to Joe Bousquet
[Arosa 4th November 1928], 4 pages in-4, autograph envelope attached

“Day by day, my body eats my head. I can’t wait to leave this place. Too many nerves, too many nightmares”

FLAUBERT, Achille Cléophas (1784-1846)

Autograph letter signed « Flaubert » to Charles Vacquerie
Rouen le 12 X^bre [December] 1838, 1 p. 1/2 in-4° in black ink

« I think at this moment that a bloodletting of the arms is useful to you »

FLAUBERT, Gustave (1821-1880)

Autograph letter signed « Gve Flaubert » to Paule Sandeau
[Croisset], 1^er 7bre [septembre 1861], 3 p. in-8° on blue laid paper

« You will see that my prediction will come true: my book will not have much effect »

FLAUBERT, Gustave (1821-1880)

Autograph letter signed « ton Gve Flaubert » to Maxime Du Camp
[Paris, 13 October 1869], 2 p. in-8° on beige laid paper

« Another one gone! The little band is dwindling! The few castaways from the Raft of the Medusa are disappearing! »

FLAUBERT, Gustave (1821-1880)

Autograph letter signed « Gve Flaubert » to Paule Sandeau
[Croisset], Saturday [16th November 1867], 3 p. in-8° on blue laid paper

« After that one, good evening! I will say goodbye to the bourgeois for the rest of my life »

FOUCAULT, Michel (1926-1984)

Autograph letter signed “M Foucault” to Claude Bonnefoy
N.p, 14th December [1965], 1 page 1/4 in-4

“It was a challenge – it seems to me – to talk about Genet after Sartre”

GAINSBOURG, Serge (1928-1991)

Autograph notes for Charlotte for Ever
N.p.n.d [c. 1985-86], 1 p. in-4°

« Navy Blue Leather Glove… »

GAINSBOURG, Serge (1928-1991)

Autograph quote signed « Gainsbourg »
N.p.n.d. [1980s], 1 p. in-folio (15,5 x 29,5 cm) oblong

« A Pascal, chauffeur de taxi qui m’a taxé un Pascal »

GAINSBOURG, Serge (1928-1991)

Autograph manuscript
N.p.n.d [c. 1980s], 1/2 p. in-4°

« Jus de truffe… »

GAINSBOURG, Serge (1928-1991)

First draft autograph manuscrit
N.p.n.d. [Paris, early 1990], 3 p. in-4°

« J’ai de la peine / Je sens o je sens et le sang / qui se glace dans mes veines »

GARCÍA LORCA, Federico (1898-1936)

Original drawing titled « Poesia »
N.p.n.d, 1 p. in-8° on double folio

Touching drawing of the poet soberly titled « Poesia »

GAUGUIN, Paul (1848-1903)

Autograph letter signed « Paul Gauguin » to a collector
N.p.n.d [Paris, 1st or 2nd November 1893], 1 p. 1/2 in-8°

« The exhibition will be launched on the 9th »

GAUGUIN, Paul (1848-1903)

Autograph letter signed « Paul Gauguin » to Daniel de Monfreid
[Tahiti], November 1895, 3 p. 1/4 in-4°

« Every night frenzied girls invade my bed; yesterday I had three to function »

GAUTIER, Théophile (1811-1872)

Autograph poem signed « Théophile Gautier »
[N.p.n.d], 1 p. in-8° in black ink on blue laid paper

« And on the mournful, doleful hill / I see my final dwelling-place »

GAUTIER, Théophile (1811-1872)

Autograph poem signed « Théophile Gautier »
« [Paris], 10 Xbre [December] [185]1 », 2 p. in-8° (autograph on 1^st and 4^th pages)

« Ses yeux, où le ciel se reflète / Mêlent à leur azur amer / Qu’étoile une humide paillette / Les teintes glauques de la mer »

GENET, Jean (1910-1986)

Fragment of an autograph poem
N.p.n.d [Paris, prison de la Santé – 1943], 1/4 p. in4°

« My quail bundled up, crushed under my fingers »

GENET, Jean (1910-1986)

First draft manuscript
N.p.n.d [c. 1955], 3/4 p. in-4° in blue ink

« Beautiful girls of France, get your asses ready! »

GENET, Jean (1910-1986)

Autograph manuscript (first draft)
N.p.n.d [1971], 4 p. 1/2 in-4°

« The target remained the same: a Negro who thinks… whose book is the announcement and preparation of a black revolution »

GENEVOIX, Maurice (1890-1980)

Autograph letter signed « Maurice Genevoix » to a colleague
Châteauneuf s/ Loire (Loiret), 24 January 1927, 1 p. in-4°

« I’m lazy enough »

GIACOMETTI, Alberto (1901-1966)

Autograph letter signed « Alberto Giacometti » to David Thompson
Paris, 2th August 1956, 3 p. in-8°

« Because of sculpture I am forced to neglect painting »

GIDE, André (1869-1951)

Autograph letter signed « André Gide » to Élie Allégret
La Roque, [late] August [18]93, 3 pp. in-4°

« I am frightened to see how much a woman can lie to herself »

GIDE, André (1869-1951)

Autograph card signed “André Gide” to Michel Levesque
La Souco, 14th February [19]30, 1 page in-12 on the verso of a postcard

“I’ll see if there’s still a copy of Un Esprit non prévenu…”

GIDE, André (1869-1951)

Autograph letter signed “André Gide” to Joseph Billiet
Cuverville, 15th MArch 1919, 2 p. 1/2 in-4

“It is about finding happiness beyond, beyond distress”

GIONO, Jean (1895-1970)

Autograph postcard signed « Jean Giono » to Anna Robin
Manosque, [31st August 1941], 1 p. in-8°

« I owe a great deal of my happiness to you »

GONCOURT (de), Edmond (1822-1896)

Autograph letter signed « Edmond de Goncourt » to a lady
N.p, 5 7bre [September] [18]93, 2 p. in-8°

« Jules’ coffin has remained intact, and so there is now, without new digging, a place for Edmond de Goncourt »

GONCOURT (de), Edmond (1822-1896)

Rare photographic portrait of Edmond de Goncourt
Circa 1885, glued on ivory cardboard, 16.5 cm x 10.5 cm

GONCOURT (de), Jules (1830-1870)

Autograph letter signed « J. de Goncourt » to a lady
Château de St Gratien, 29th July  [18]68, 1 p. in-8°

« We are very sensitive to the testimony of affection that you give us »

GRACQ, Julien (1910-2007)

Autograph letter signed « Julien Gracq » to Thierry Maulnier
Caen, 4th November [1945], 1 p. in-8° in violet ink on lined paper

« I learned from a press clipping… that you did not receive Un Beau ténébreux »

GRIS, Juan (1887-1927)

Autograph postcard signed « Juan Gris » to André Level
[Loches, 2 Oct. 1916], 1 p. in-8°

« I try to do the landscapes well but it seems bad to me »

GUAITA (de), Stanislas (1861-1897)

Autograph letter signed « Stanislas de Guaita » to Oscar Méténier
Château d’Alteville, n.d. [14 June 1884], 2 p. in-8°

« Donne moi quelques renseignements sur ce qui se passe à Paris ; moi je moisis à la campagne »

GUITRY, Sacha (1885-1957)

Autograph letter signed twice « Sacha Guitry » to a gentleman
N.p.n.d « 3 in the morning », 1 p. in-4°

« 3 o’clock in the morning – really! »

GUITRY, Sacha (1885-1957)

Autograph quotation signed « Sacha Guitry »
S.l.n.d., 1 p. in-8° oblongue

« The hardest thing to do in a play is the intermissions »

GUYOTAT, Pierre (1940-2020)

Autograph manuscript
N.p.n.d, 6 p. in-folio

« Jean de la Fontaine: Very handsome boy, very whore »

HEREDIA (de), José-Maria (1842-1905)

Autograph signed quatrain « M. de Heredia » to the marquise de Saint-Paul
N.p.n.d [1894], 1 p. in-8°

« Carmen m’a donné la rose / Qui sur son cœur s’effeuillait »

HUGO, Victor (1802-1855)

Autograph letter to Alphonsine Masson
[Marine Terrace, Jersey], 5th August [1855], 4 pp. small in-12°

« And every night I look up there, I make signs of intelligence to the heavenly eyes of the night, and it seems to me that I see her »

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

Autograph inscription signed « Victor Hugo »
N.p.n.d. [print : Spring 1880], 12,7 x 9 cm

« I think with happiness of all the charming things you have done for my dear grandchildren »

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

Autograph aphorism signed « Victor Hugo »
N.p.n.d.., 1/2 p. in-8° oblong

« To dream is happiness; to wait is life »

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

Autograph letter signed “Victor Hugo” to a critic
28 January [1870], H[auteville] H[ouse], [Guernesey], 1 p. in-4

“I dedicate, like Aeschylus, my works to time”

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

Autograph draft of a poem fragment
N.p.n.d, [Guernesey, c. 1854], 1 p. in-12° on thin blue paper

« Ils ouvrent cette nuit que nul rayon ne perce / Ils y font brusquement tomber à la renverse / Les pâles cadavres béants ! »

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

Original photograph by Pierre Petit
Period albumen print (1861). Name card format

The very first photograph of Victor Hugo with a beard

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

“Mini” autograph letter signed « V. » to Émile Allix
H[auteville] H[house], 25th July [1862], 2 p. small in-24° on blue paper

« I’m going to see my Charles in a few days. It will be a deep joy, and I deserve it a little after this heavy work »

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

Autograph fragments for a satirical poem
S.l.n.d [Guernesey, 1870], two teared strips in-4°

« Brunet was once a clown. He was radiant / Above humans by dint of stupidity »

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

Draft of an autograph poem
N.p.n.d [Guernesey, 1859], 1 p. in-8° (140 x 145 cm)

« Never mind O traitor! at point-blank range my book shoots you! »

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

« The money generated by the sale of the poem La Libération du territoire will not pass through my hands »

HUYSMANS, Joris-Karl (1848-1907)

Poème autographe [signed]
N.p.n.d, 1 p. in-8° on laid paper

« It’s all right, little man, oh yes! do it, harder »

INDY, Vincent d’ (1851-1931)

Autograph letter signed “Vincent d’Indy“, enhanced with autograph CV
Bruxelles, 24th November 1896, 5 p. 1/2 small in-8

“So I’m just sending you a very simple story of organist, timbalier, conductor of hearts, composer…”

INGRES, Jean-Auguste-Dominique (1780-1867)

Autograph letter signed “Ingres” to M. Beroggi
N.d.n.p, Saturday, 1 p. in-12

“Our modest dinner next Monday, with too unworthy accompaniment of a Haydn Sonata”

JACOB, Max (1876-1944)

Autograph letter signed « Max Jacob » to Raymond Trillat
[St Benoît-sur-Loire], 12th September [1942], 2 p. in-4°

« Here daily visits to such an extent that a report was made (denunciation) to the police… »

JACOB, Max (1876-1944)

Autograph letter signed « Max Jacob » to Pierre Lagarde
St Benoît sur Loire, 6th April 1942, 1 p. in-4°

« What would you say if one of your own was in a concentration camp and died there… »

JACOB, Max (1876-1944)

Autograph poem signed « Max Jacob » to Pierre Lagarde
St Benoît sur Loire, 17th August 1936, 1 p. in-4°

« Will love come back? »

JACOB, Max (1876-1944)

Original drawing signed « Max Jacob »
N.p.n.d. [St Benoît sur Loire], 1 p. in-4° in black ink

Nice drawing by the poet depicting an archangel on horseback defeating the Devil

JACOB, Max (1876-1944)

Autograph letter signed « Max » to Pierre Lagarde
[St Benoît sur Loire], 10th August [19]42, 1 p. in-4°

« I can suffer more from my gossip, my sensual glances, than from the persecution of the Jews »

JACOB, Max (1876-1944)

Autograph letter signed « Max Jacob » to Marcel Thiébaut
Monastère de St Benoît-sur-Loire, 16th May 1924, 2 p. in-8° on bi-folio

« You have exuded the character of my heroes better than I have done myself »

JACOB, Max (1876-1944)

Autograph letter signed « Max Jacob » to Pierre Lagarde
St Benoît [sur Loire], 23rd January [19]40, 1 p. in-4° with envelope

« I suffer to the point of tears and I pray very especially for you »

KEROUAC, Jack (1922-1969)

Typed letter signed twice « Jack » and « Jack Kerouac » to Granville H. Jones
[Northport, New York, 22 November 1960] 2 p. in-4°, with envelope

« It is the only thing too that has made me happy in three years, since the publication of On the Road and the subsequent sickeningness of ‘being famous’ »

KESSEL, Joseph (1898-1979)

Autograph carte-de-visite
N.p.n.d [March 1927], 1 p. in-24°

« Have you received the “Cœurs purs” »

LAMARTINE (de), Alphonse (1790-1869)

Letter signed « Lamartine » to M. Meyer
Paris, 21st May [1842], 1 p. small in-8°

« I have not received the comments on Montesquieu’s Persian letters of which you were kind enough to mention to me »

LAMARTINE (de), Alphonse (1790-1869)

Autograph letter signed « Al. de Lamartine » to Stéphanie de Virieu
Paris, 14th April 1841, 3 p. 1/2 in-8° on laid paper

« Was he not also my brother, and more than many brothers? »

LAMARTINE (de), Alphonse (1790-1869)

Autograph letter signed « Lamartine » [to Jean-Marie Dargaud]
[Castle of] Monceau, 25 [August 1850], 4 p. in-8°

« I know very well that the inconveniences of temper disappear after death, and that only the memory of loyal virtues and attachment remains »

LAURENCIN, Marie (1883-1956)

Autograph letter signed « Marie Laurencin » to Roger Nimier
St-Benoît-sur-Loire, 30th August [1952], 3 p. 1/2 in-12° with an original drawing

« The little bit of library – Mauriac – Proust – Gide – Bernanos etc. »

LAURENCIN, Marie (1883-1956)

Lettre autographe signée « Marie Laurencin » à Roger Nimier
[Paris, 20 mars 1952], 4 p. in-12°

« Judges have scared me since the story of Guillaume Apollinaire »

LAWRENCE, David Herbert (1885-1930)

Autograph letter signed « DH Lawrence » to George Conway
Hôtel Beau Rivage, Bandol, 29th December 1928, 2 p. in-8°, with envelope

« Some people were much scandalized by Lady C. but many took it in the right spirit, and remain staunch to me »

LISZT, Franz (1811-1886)

Original photograph by Julien Ganz
Period albumen print (1882), cabinet format

Striking and unpublished portrait of the musician

MALRAUX, André (1901-1976)

Autograph letter signed « André Malraux » to a critic
Np, 30th [1933], 1 page in-8

“I understand, of course, the mistrust that a book about China can inspire”

MALRAUX, André (1901-1976)

Autograph letter signed « And. Malraux » to Ventura García Calderón
Marrakech, 21st April [1952], 2 pages in-8, l’Hôtel de la Mamounia à Marrakech letterhead

“I have long thought that in literature any personal attack is futile”

MANET, Édouard (1832-1883)

Autograph card signed « Edouard Manet » to Eva Gonzalès
N.p.n.d., 1 p. in-24

« I have to go to a funeral and won’t be able to go to the studio »

MASSENET, Jules (1842-1912)

Autograph letter signed « JM » to Constance de Gressy
Brussels, 24 Nov[ember] [18]81, 3 pp. in-8°

« I have never written a more solid work – not a lapse in the effects – it comes out the way I wanted – I am even stunned! »

MASSENET, Jules (1842-1912)

Autograph letter signed « J. Massenet » to a friend
Paris, 18th June [18]79, 1 p. in-8°

« I’m expected in London and I’ll be back in Paris next Friday 27th for the composition competition»

MASSENET, Jules (1842-1912)

Autograph letter signed « J Masse » to Constance de Gressy
Brussels, “Friday 5 pm” [25th November 1881], 3 p. in-8°

« I put so much care into the orchestration – I worked on it so much! »

MAUPASSANT (de), Gustave (1821-1900)

Autograph letter signed « Gustave de Maupassant » to Robert Pinchon
Sainte-Maxime, 9 7bre [September] [18]95, 3 p. in-8° on laid paper

« Guy was already mad when his mother made him sign his will »

MAUPASSANT (de), Guy (1850-1893)

Late film print on postcard
N.p. [1875 ?], 9 x 11,6 cm

Handsome portrait of Maupassant in bust

MAUPASSANT (de), Guy (1850-1893)

Autograph letter signed « Guy » to Lucie Le Poittevin
[Antibes or Cannes, late 1886 or early 1887], 2 p. small in-8°

« I sail a lot,  fencing with rage, I walk, so I do all the exercises, except… affection. But I don’t need it »

MAUPASSANT (de), Laure (1821-1903)

Autograph letter signed « Laure de Maupassant » [to Robert Pinchon]
Nice, 29 Sep[tember] 1901, 3 p. in-8°, mourning paper

« The poor old lady in exile would welcome the former guest of Étretat, who would bring so many dear memories of the people and things that had disappeared » 

MAURIAC, François (1885-1970)

Autograph letter signed « François Mauriac » to Jacques Boulanger
[Paris] 89 rue de la Pompe, 31 Oct[ober] 1920, 1 p. in-12°

« Friends are telling me today about a very kind review you gave of my novel »

MAURIAC, François (1885-1970)

First draft autograph manuscript
N.p.n.d. [second half of January 1945 ?], 1 p. in-4°

« Charles Maurras’s opponents cannot help but feel anxious at the thought of the terrible repercussions his execution would have in the country »

MAURIAC, François (1885-1970)

Autograph letter signed « M » to André Malraux
[Paris, 6th February 1928], 1 p. petit in-8°

« Grasset doesn’t like your novel, and Paulhan admires it very much »

MAURRAS, Charles (1868-1952)

Autograph letter signed « Charles Maurras » to Louis-Xavier de Ricard
S.l, 31st December [1892], 15 p. in-8°, bespoke binding by Michel Kieffer

« I confess that I am anti-Jewish without being anti-Semitic »

MERMOZ, Jean (1901-1936)

Autograph poem
S.l.n.d, 1 p. in-4°

« I was slowly following the path of My Life / Far from the World lost and drowned in Envy »

MEYER, Conrad Ferdinand (1825-1898)

Autograph poem signed on the verso of a period albumen print
N.p, 18th Nov[ember] 1895, (12,3 x 17 cm)

« Bei der Abendsonne Wandern / Wann ein Dorf den Strahl verlor »

MIRÓ, Joan (1893-1983)

Autograph letter signed « Joan » to Maria [San Lazzaro]
Folgarolas 9, Barcelona, 23rd December 1955, 1 p. in-4°

« I was awfully busy preparing my next exhibition »

MISTRAL, Frédéric (1830-1914)

Autograph manuscript signed « F. Mistral »
N.p.n.d, 2 p. petit in-8° on laid paper

« With her hair girded with the Arlesian diadem, the chapel of her breasts half-open to the sun, she went into the crowd, spreading admiration. she was human beauty »

MISTRAL, Frédéric (1830-1914)

Autograph letter signed « F. Mistral » [à Thérèse Boissière, (née Roumanille) ?]
Maillane, 4th June 1901, 1 p. 1/2 in-8°

« I asked the félibre Bacquié-Fonade if by chance he would know where your father had published his Carmagnole »

MONET, Claude (1840-1926)

Autograph letter signed « Claude Monet » [to Alice Hoschedé]
N.p.n.d, « Saturday 6h » [c. 1882-1883], 2 p. in-8°

« The weather here is dreadful, foggy enough to be seen and yet I have worked all the same, but it is sunshine that I would like, and it is very rare »

MONTÉZIN, Pierre Eugène (1874-1946)

Original drawing signed
N.p., 25 April 1937, 1 p. in-4° on laid paper

« Joie de vivre, joie de peindre… »

NADAR JEUNE, Adrien Tournachon (1825-1903)

Autograph letter signed “Adrien” to Alcide-Joseph Lorentz
[Paris], 6 January 1858, 1 p. in-8 à with embossed letterhead

“I have urgent matter to deal with…”

NADAR, Félix Tournachon, dit (1820-1910)

Autograph card signed « Nadar » to [Henri ?] Cazalis
Draveil, 12 January [18]93, 1 p. small in-8°

« My poor afflicted one and I send our warmest regards with our best wishes.… »

NADAR, Félix Tournachon, dit (1820-1910)

Autograph letter signed « Nadar » to Ernest Vaughan from journal L’Aurore
Marseille, 26 8bre [October] [18]99, 2 page in-12

« And then I no longer see Clemenceau in my Aurore »

NADAR, Félix Tournachon, dit (1820-1910)

Autograph letter signed « Ton Nadar » to a friend
N.p.n.d [Paris, 1857], 1 p. in-8

« I write to you at the Rabelais »

NADAR, Félix Tournachon, dit (1820-1910)

Autograph letter signed on letter-head “Nadar” to Mayor of 8th arrondissement of Paris
Paris, 17 January 1883, 1/2 p. in-8

“Mr. Nadar has the honour to present his respects…”

NERVAL (de), Gérard (1808-1855)

Autograph letter signed « Gérard de Nerval » to actor Pierre Bocage
[Paris], « ce mardi » [19 October 1852], 1 p. in-8°

« It seems to me that the cause is not lost »

PAGNOL, Marcel (1895-1974)

First draft poetic autograph notes
N.p.n.d, 3 p. in-4° on school paper

« La robe infâme / Fit naître ton émoi / Ainsi ton âme / Ne fut jamais à moi »

PAGNOL, Marcel (1895-1974)

Autograph letter signed « Marcel » to Maurice [Escande]
Paris, 6th June 1967, 1 p. in-4°

« I often can’t animate myself! »

PAULHAN, Jean (1884-1968)

Autograph letter signed « Jean Paulhan » to Thierry Maulnier
N.p.n.d., « le 25 » [late 1939], 3 p. in-8° on NRF letterhead

« La pesée de Charles Maurras sur la politique française, depuis 1914, n’a pas été moindre que celle de Laval, de Poincaré ou de Blum »

PERET, Benjamin (1899-1959)

Autograph letter signed « Benjamin Peret » to René Alleau
Paris, 12th February 1958, 1 p. in-4

“These failures are inherent to my condition as an independent and revolted intellectual….”

PIAF, Édith (1915-1963)

Autograph letter signed « Pupuce » to Yves Montand
Metz, 5th April 1946, 2 pp. in-4° on the Hôtel de Metz’s letterhead

« When I get on stage, people are screaming and I haven’t sung yet, you can see that my reputation goes a long way… »

PIAF, Édith (1915-1963)

Autograph letter signed « Eydith » to Yves Montand
« Nevers, 16th May 1945 at noon and twenty three minutes », 2 p. 1/2 in-8°

« I love you to death »

PIAF, Édith (1915-1963)

Contract signed « Édit Piaf » and « Bruno Coquatrix »
Paris, 29th February 1956, 1 p. 1/2 in-4°

« Mrs. EDITH PIAF will do the entire second part of the show »

PIAF, Édith (1915-1963)

Autograph letter signed « Édit Piaf » to a friend
Paris, 6th June 1946, 1/2 p. in-4° on her letterhead

« I wish you in life to be as happy as I am right now, even with a man who doesn’t love me! »

PICASSO, Pablo (1881-1973)

Autograph letter signed « Picasso » to Max Pellequer
[Château de] Vauvenargues, « le 24.[0]6.[19]59 », 1 p. in-8° in oil pastel

« You just left this morning and already I’m bothering you again »

PICASSO, Pablo (1881-1973)

Autograph letter signed « Picasso » to Max Pellequer
[Château de] Vauvenargues, « 13.[0]5.[19]59 », 1 p. in-4°

« A thousand greetings from both of us for both of you»

PICASSO, Pablo (1881-1973)

Autograph letter signed « Picasso » to Max Pellequer
[Château de] Vauvenargues, “14.[0]4.[19]61”, 1 p. 1/4 in-4°

« We have been here since yesterday and will be staying for a few days »

PISSARRO, Camille (1830-1903)

Autograph letter signed « C. Pissarro » to Théo Van Rysselberghe
[Bruges, Hôtel du] Singe d’Or, 3rd July [18]94, 2 p. in-8°

« I still have in my ear the sound of the waves and the color of the sea in my eye, you must have had beautiful effects last night »

PISSARRO, Camille (1830-1903)

Autograph letter signed « C. Pissarro » to Noël Clément-Janin
Paris, 19th Feb[ruary] 1892, 1 p. 1/2 in-8°, with envelope

« Turner, Delacroix, Corot, Courbet, Daumier, Jongkind, Manet, Degas, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Guillaumin, Sisley, Seurat ! This is our march. »

POTOCKI, Jean (1761-1815)

Autograph letter signed « Jean Potocki » to Firmin Didot
Tulczyn, 1st December [1810], 1 1/4 p. in-4°

« I realize every day that it is difficult to see clearly in science when you are so far from the home of the enlightenment »

POULENC, Francis (1899-1963)

Autograph letter signed « Francis Poulenc » to Frederick Woods
[Saint-Raphaël], 3rd April 1960, 1 p. in-12°

« Excuse me, but I don’t have the time or the inclination to talk about the Bal Masqué »

POULENC, Francis (1899-1963)

Autograph letter signed « Francis Poulenc » to [Philippe] Parès
Cannes [1928 ?], 1 p. 1/2 in-4° on light blue paper

« Will I have the joy of hearing the trio’s trials already? You know that nothing in the world amuses me more »

PRÉVERT, Jacques (1900-1977)

Autograph poem : Chant funèbre d’un représentant 
[Saint-Paul-de-Vence, 14th April 1953], 4 p. in-plano (25 x 43,7 cm)

« I was sick of death / and without even dying / like others seasick / without being able to vomit it »

PROUDHON, Pierre-Joseph (1809-1865)

Autograph letter signed « P.-J. Proudhon » to Gustave Chaudey
Passy, September 11, 1863, 3 p. in-8°

« I no longer have any confidence in the present generation; I work without hope for the satisfaction of my conscience »

PROUST, Jeanne WEIL (1849-1905)

[5^th December 1904], original period film print. Round photography (159 mm diameter), mounted on thick paper frame in the photographer’s name.

One of the last portraits of Jeanne Weil Proust, less than a year before her death

PROUST, Marcel (1871-1922)

Original drawing, inscribed to Reynaldo Hahn : « R.H. (Bininuls) »
N.p.n.d [c. 1909 ?], 1 p. in-8° in black ink on laid paper

Precious drawing by the writer, dedicated to his « Bininuls »

PROUST, Marcel (1871-1922)

Autograph pastiche-poem signed « Marcel Proust »
N.p.n.d [c. summer 1908], 2 p. in-8°, mourning paper

« Seigneur, si vous daignez m’admettre dans les Salles / Où le Juste rompra le Pain Essentiel, / Que de marbre aussi pur étincellent vos stalles ! »

PROUST, Marcel (1871-1922)

Autograph letter signed « Marcel Proust » to Marie Scheikévitch
[Paris], 16th April 1918, 1 p. in-8°

« I will arrange to see you very soon »

PROUST, Marcel (1871-1922)

Autograph letter signed « Marcel » to Reynaldo Hahn
N.p.n.d « Monday » [7th January 1907], 8 p. in-8° on mourning paper

« If you write to Montesquiou, tell him that the truth is out of his dilemma, in full improbability for those who do not know my life… »

PROUST, Marcel (1871-1922)

Autograph letter signed « Marcel Proust » to Robert de Montesquiou
[Paris], « 9 B^d Malesherbes » [27th May 1895], 1 p. in-12° on ‘petit bleu’

« Tomorrow some of my worst verses will be heard »

PROUST, Marcel (1871-1922)

Autograph letter signed « Marcel Proust » to Robert de Montesquiou
N.p, [December 7, 1904], 4 pp. in-8°, mourning paper

« The truly unsightly land is not that which art has not sown, but that which, covered with masterpieces, knows neither how to love them nor even how to preserve them »

PROUST, Marcel (1871-1922)

Autograph letter signed « Marcel Proust » to Marie Scheikévitch
[Paris], 1st February 1915 (post mark), 4 p. in-8° in black in on laid paper

« In the meantime, I can’t stop thinking about you… »

PROUST, Marcel (1871-1922)

Autograph letter signed « Marcel Proust » to Marie Scheikévitch
[Paris, 21st November 1918], 4 p. in-8°

« The human condition is so treacherously wicked… »

PROUST, Marcel (1871-1922)

Autograph letter signed « Marcel Proust » à Marie Scheikévitch
[Paris, after February 7th, 1922] 3 p. in-8° on light grey paper

« There is a good chance that you did not notice that I was at Princess Soutzo’s the other evening »

PSICHARI, Ernest (1883-1914)

Autograph letter signed « Ernest Psichari » to Maurice Reclus
Paris, 11th June 1902, 8 p. in-folio

« My only intention was, I swear, to couple words adrift, with harmony and rarity, as much as possible »

PUCCINI, Giacomo (1858-1924)

Autograph document signed « Giacomo Puccini »
Paris, 9th June 1910, 1 p. in-folio (32 x 20 cm)

Spectacular large-format inscription for his opera The Girl of the golden West

RAVEL, Maurice (1875-1937)

Autograph letter signed « Maurice Ravel » to Maurice Emmanuel
[Montfort-l’Amaury], « 14/10/[19]22 », 4 p. in-8°

« An upward progression of sound »

RENARD, Jules (1864-1910)

Autograph-card letter signed « Jules Renard » [to Georges Moreau]
[Paris], 14th June 1895, 1 p. 1/2 in-12°

« The unpublished chapter of Poil de Carotte… »

RIMBAUD, Arthur (1854-1891)

Autograph manuscript signed twice « Rimbaud », to Armand Savouré
Harar, 30 March 1890, 1/2 p. in-4°

Unpublished receipt from Harar intended to Armand Savouré, the last before Rimbaud ceased all activity with him

RIMBAUD, Arthur (1854-1891)

Autograph letter signed « Rimbaud » to his family
Aden, 10th September 1884, 4 pp. in-8° on laid paper

« And since every man is a slave in this miserable fatality »

ROLLAND, Romain (1866-1944)

Autograph manuscript signed « Romain Rolland »
N.p, April 1928, 1 p. in-4°

« Too many abuses, old and new, have an interest in hindering the awakening of the Soul »

ROPS, Félicien (1833-1898)

Autograph letter signed « Fély » to Octave Uzanne
[Paris, c. 1890], 1 p. in-12

« Since this morning, I have met three Jews with otter necks whom my grandfather had had beaten fifty years ago »

ROPS, Félicien (1833-1898)

Autograph letter signed « Félicien Rops » to a gentleman
Paris, 28th May [1891 ?], 3 p. in-8°

« All of them: Sculptors, poets, musicians, painters, apart from a score of ‘brain-seeing’ people are a band of Monkeys and lemurs who should be taken away gently… and shot »

SADE, Donatien-Alphonse-François, Marquis de (1740-1814)

Autograph letter signed « de Sade » to his aunt Gabrielle-Eléonore de Sade
N.p [Paris ?], 22nd April [1790], 3 pp. in-8°

« My room was searched and I lost everything… precious works, the fruit of fifteen years’ work, I have saved nothing »

SAGAN, Françoise (1935-2004)

Autograph letter signed « Françoise Sagan » to « Henri »
Paris, 167 blvd Malesherbes [c. 1950s], 3 pp. in-4°

« I’ll be happy to fail with you »

SAINT-SAENS, Camille (1835-1921)

Autograph letter signed « C. Saint S » [to Louis Gallet]
S.l, 5 February, 2 p. in-4°

« This piece did not amuse me to do »

SAINTE-BEUVE, Charles-Augustin (1804-1869)

Autograph letter signed « Ste Beuve » to Adèle Foucher
Besançon, 14 October 1829, 3 p. in-4°

« In truth, madame, what a foolish idea I had to leave your hospitable home without purpose, the fruitful and encouraging words of Victor… »

SAND, George (1804-1876)

Autograph letter to Emmanuel Arago
[Nohant, 3rd January 1836], 3 p. in-4°

« Should we be angry against humanity? I used up all my indignation when I was younger. Nothing surprises me anymore, neither the bad nor the good »

SAND, George (1804-1876)

Autograph letter signed « George Sand » to Cora Chamberlaine
Nohant, 5th May [18]70, 6 pp. in-8°

« I think I said in the Story of my life that perhaps one should speak of oneself once in one’s life, in order not to think about it again and not to return to it »

SAND, George (1804-1876)

Autograph letter signed “GSand” [to Paul Porel]
Nohant, May 28 [18]76, 1 page in-8 in black ink

« I still hope to go to Paris before the Odéon closes »

SAND, George (1804-1876)

Autograph manuscript signed « G Sand » for her novel Consuelo [fragments]
[Nohant and Paris, between late 1842 and early 1843] 27 p. in-8°

« End of Consuelo »

SARTRE, Jean-Paul (1905-1980)

Autograph preparatory manuscript for Les Mots
N.p.n.d [c. 1953-1955], 1 p. in-4°

« I became someone, an Other »

SARTRE, Jean-Paul (1905-1980)

Autograph manuscript for « Les Communistes et la paix »
N.p, [c. late 1953 – March 1954], 6 p. in-4°

« It is misery that drives the peasant to the city factories. And this misery is provoked »

SARTRE, Jean-Paul (1905-1980)

Two autograph manuscripts for « L’Engagement de Mallarmé »
N.p, [1952], 2 p. in-4° in blue ink on graph paper

« Creature or creator, there is no other choice »

SARTRE, Jean-Paul (1905-1980)

First draft autograph manuscript
N.p.n.d [summer 1949?], 8 p. in-4°

« Existentialism: man is outside himself in the world, outside the present in the future, he is produced by causes but he goes beyond and judges causes… »

SARTRE, Jean-Paul (1905-1980)

First draft autograph manuscript
N.p.n.d. [c. 1957-1959], 33 p. in-4° on graph paper

« A machine is a monster »

SEMPÉ, Jean-Jacques (1932-2022)

Autograph letter signed « Sempé » to Gérard Leman
Paris, 15th January [19]68, 1 p. in-4° with autograph envelope

« I work so slowly… »

SIGNAC, Paul (1863-1935)

Autograph letter signed « P.S. » to Henry van de Velde
N.p.n.d (c. 1911-1912), 1 p. 1/2 in -8°

« Since the death of my dear mother, I have deferred to those who, like her, never do me so much good »

STAËL (de), Germaine (1766-1817)

Autograph letter to Claire de Duras
N.p.n.d, “Sunday” [after 1815], 1 p. in-12°

« Will you go this evening to visit Mde de la Châtre ? »

STENDHAL, Henri Beyle, dit (1783-1842)

Autograph letter signed « Dubois » to his sister Pauline Périer-Lagrange
[Brunswick], « 29 8^bre [October] 1808 » 5 p. in-4°

« I liked music as an expression of love. It seems to me that none of the women I’ve had have given me such a sweet moment… »

STENDHAL, Henri Beyle, dit (1783-1842)

Autograph letter to his sister, Pauline Périer-Lagrange
N.p, « Sunday », [13rd May 1810], 3 p. 1/4 in-4°

« My days here are filled by a woman, whom I am not in love with, but whom I constantly think about »

STEVENSON, Robert Louis (1850-1894)

Autograph letter signed « Robert Louis Stevenson » to Hubert Smith-Stainer
Edinburgh, [Pitlochry, 6th June 1881], 3 pp. in-8°

« Two or three nights under the stars… »

SULLY PRUDHOMME (1839-1907)

Autograph poem signed « Sully Prudhomme »
N.p.n.d, 1 p. in-8° on laid paper

« Here below, all men weep / Their friendships or their loves / I dream of the kisses that remain / Always… »

SUPERVIELLE, Jules (1884-1960)

Period photographic print, signed twice
N.p, 22 Dec[ember] 1952, 23,5 x 17,3 cm

Nice and large autographed print of the writer

TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (de), Henri (1864-1901)

Autograph letter signed « Your boy H » to his mother Adèle Zoë Tapié de Céleyran
[Villiers-sur-Morin, fall 1886], 4 p. in-12

« I fly from ladder to ladder »

TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (de), Henri (1864-1901)

Original drawings. Ink on paper [Dog and cat]
N.p.n.d [c. 1876-1880], 1 p. in-4° in black ink

Charming drawings by young Toulouse-Lautrec

VALÉRY, Paul (1871-1945)

Autograph quote signed « Paul Valéry »
N.p.n.d., [after 1930], 1 p. in-8° oblong

« The strangest thought in the world: There will be men after us »

VALÉRY, Paul (1871-1945)

Autograph letter signed « P.V » [à Maurice Noël]
N.p.n.d, « Saturday », 1 p. in-8°

« If Le Figaro finds it too abstract, send it back to me »

VALÉRY, Paul (1871-1945)

Autograph letter signed « Paul Valéry » to Maurice Noël
N.p.n.d « Wednesday » [6th May 1942 ?], 2 p. in-8°

« I chatted with Gide (in Marseilles) who gave me full powers, before embarking for Tunis »

VALLÈS, Jules (1832-1885)

Autograph letter signed « J.V. » to Aurélien Scholl
[Londres], 29 8bre [October] [18]77, 6 pp. in-8°

 « I am thinking of letting my political hopes lie dormant, and returning to my profession »

VERLAINE, Paul (1840-1896)

Autograph letter signed « P Verlaine » to Adrien Remacle
Paris, 22 7bre [September] 1895, 1 p. in-8° on laid bi-folio

« Please note that I live at 39 rue Descartes »

VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)

Autograph letter signed « P. Verlaine » to Armand Gouzien
Paris-Montmartre, [September-October 1871], 2 p. in-8°

« My wife, who is pregnant, was horribly unwell last night and I was on my feet and on my teeth »

VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)

Autograph letter signed « P Verlaine » to Jules Rais
[Paris] 39 rue Descartes, 2 January [18]96, 1 p. in-12° on laid paper

« I’m writing to you so little and so badly »

VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)

Original photograph of Paul Verlaine by Paul Marsan, known as Dornac
[Paris, 28 May 1892], 135 x 180 mm

Timeless portrait of Verlaine, sitting on a bench at café François 1er, in front of a large glass of absinthe

VIGNY (de), Alfred (1797-1863)

Autograph poem signed « Alfred »
N.p.n.d, 1 p. in-folio

Nice autograph poem signed from his early years

ZOLA, Alexandrine (1839-1925)

Autograph letter signed « Alexandrine Zola » to Gabriel Thyébaut
[Paris], 7 8bre [octobre] 1906, 8 pp. in-8° à l’encre violette sur papier de deuil

« I always think I die at every step, when I go up to this study in which life has also gone »

ZOLA, Émile (1840-1902)

Autograph letter signed « Emile Zola » to Fernand Desmoulin
Médan, 8th August 1895, 2 pp. in-8°

« I ended up despising the weather, going out in the downpours, which means that I come back soaked, covered in mud »

ZOLA, Émile (1840-1902)

Autograph letter signed « Emile Zola » to Joseph Canqueteau
Paris, 10th March 1885, 2 p. in-8°

« The first idea of “Germinal” is already very far away… »

ZOLA, Émile (1840-1902)

Two autograph letters signed « Emile Zola » to Philippe Gille
Paris, 13th April 1878 and Médan, 9th August 1878, in total 3 p. in-8°

« This is the illustrated edition of L’Assommoir, which is going to be published by Marpon. Some engravings are very curious »

ZOLA, Emile (1840-1902)

Corrected proofs for his novel The Beast within
Paris, January 1890, 45 proofs printed on recto

« I love you, I will never let anyone hurt you… See, how good it is to be so, one in another ! »

ZOLA, Émile (1840-1902)

Autograph letter signed « Emile Zola » to a colleague
Paris, 12th November [18]93, 1 p. 1/2 in-8°

“When I have finished a book and given it to the public, it no longer exists for me. All my passion collapses”

ZOLA, Émile (1840-1902)

Autograph letter signed « Emile Zola » [to Albert Lacroix]
Paris, 13 Sept[ember] 1867, 2 pp. in-8°

« I’m counting on a horror success »