Rare books from Le Manuscrit Français

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.
Fold marks, very slight missing bit on top right corner without affecting the text, some small tears on left hand margin.
First draft, unpublished manuscript with multiple corrections for "Le Voyageur", one of the most beautiful and important poems of the Alcools
collection.
Apollinaire has drawn, amongst various sketches of animals, a superb cubist portrait representing two sailors.
The oldest and only manuscript of this poem still in private hands.
This document contains two poems or draft poems.
The poem, on the verso, is the declension of twenty-seven verses that develop the adventures of two sailors, verses that constitute the heart of the famous poem "Le Voyageur", first published in the journal Les Soirées de Paris (1912), then in Alcools (1913).
On the front side are six verses that seem… Read More

FLAUBERT, Gustave (1821-1880)
Autograph letter signed "Gve Flaubert" to Paul Meurice
[Paris, late April 1857], 1 page in-8 on double folio, laid paper, black ink.
Usual fold marks
Important letter from Flaubert which accompanied Madame Bovary, dedicated to Victor Hugo
"A novel which I'm asking you to send to Mr Hugo"


"Monsieur, Quoique je n'aie pas l'honneur de vous connaitre personnellement je prends la liberté de vous remettre l'exemplaire d'un roman [Madame Bovary] que je vous prie de faire parvenir à Mr Hugo. Soyez assez bon, aussi, pour en accepter un autre ci-joint et daignez agréer l'hommage de toute ma considération. Gve Flaubert"


In this letter, Flaubert asks Paul Meurice to send Victor Hugo – then on exile on Guernesey island – an example of his masterpiece Madame Bovary, the only luxury print, following the publication at Michel Lévy.
The complicity between Meurice and Hugo was deep. In 1848, Hugo made him the editor-in-chief of the newspaper L'Événement, which he had just… Read More

PROUST, Jeanne WEIL (1849-1905)
[5th December 1904], original period film print.
Round photography (15,9 cm diameter), mounted on thick paper frame in the photographer's name.
Tiny spot on lower margin of the mounting, small stain
Stamp on verso from collection [Suzy] Mante-Proust collection
One of Jeanne Weil Proust's last portraits, less than a year before her death


This portrait was taken on December 5th 1904. At this time, aged 56 years old, Proust's mother has been a widow for a year. The translation of his son's The Bible of Amiens was published that same year. She died of nephritis a year later, on September 26, 1905. Nadar did process her portrait, and removed the shadows and various flaws on her face.
Michel Schneider notes that the narrator's mother in the Search is obviously inspired by the mother of the author himself. Jeanne Proust was born Jeanne Weil in 1849 from a Jewish family of the enlightened bourgeoisie. Much has been said about the intellectual complicity that united her with… Read More

LAWRENCE, David Herbert (1885-1930)
Autograph letter signed "DH Lawrence" to George ConwayHôtel Beau Rivage, Bandol, 29th December 1928, 2 p. in-8°, with envelopeSome tiny ink stains, old paperclip mark on top left margin
Great letter from DH Lawrence about his scandalous book Lady Chatterley's Lover
"Dear Conway,I am most distressed to learn that your copies of Lady Chatterley's Lover have not turned up. They were sent by registered book post long ago – and surely the Mexican govt. would not confiscate them, as the U.S.A. customs do! I will ask Orioli to send you the registration counterfoil, to see if you can trace them. If not you must have others, if any remain. Orioli has very few, I know – they may be all ordered. But one at least I'll rescue for you. But we must find out what became of the others. The book is selling at $50. in USA- and anything over £5. here in Europe – so you see it is quite a loss.Your Christmas card came this morning too – and how pretty it is! – and I had a… Read More

ELUARD, Paul (1895-1952)
Autograph letter signed "Votre Eluard" to Joe Bousquet
[Arosa 4th November 1928], 4 pages in-4to, with autograph envelope
Some tiny spots, one word crossed off in red ink (by Bousquet's hand?)
Magnificent letter, accompanied with 3 autograph poems. Eluard supplies the plan of his next poem collection L'Amour la Poésie, dedicated to Gala
"And we are everywhere where the sky of others rises. Wherever the refusal to live is useless"


"Mon bien cher ami, voici les poèmes promis. De la 2e partie (la manière noire)
Ce livre aurait 5 parties :
Premièrement
Seconde Nature
Comme une image
Défense de savoir (1)
Défense de savoir (2)
Le tout : L'AMOUR LA POÉSIE
Et dédié à Gala
Aucun poème n'a de titre. Environ 100 poèmes. Mais de jour en jour, mon corps mange ma tête. J'ai hâte de partir d'ici. Trop de nerfs, trop de cauchemars.
Peut-être, puisque vous ne m'avez pas dit si vous avez un gramophone, détestez-vous la musique. Mais soyez certain que ce que je vous aurai… Read More

[VERLAINE] KRANTZ, Eugénie (18–/1897)
Autograph letter signed twice "Eugénie Krantz" to Edmond Lepelletier
Paris, 39 rue Descartes, 8th January 1896, 2 pp. in-12 oblong
THE DEATH OF VERLAINE
Very moving, first-hand testimony on the last moments of Verlaine by his mistress Eugenie Krantz. Close to misery, constantly running after money, she sheltered the dying poet in her apartment at 39 Rue Descartes. He died on the evening of January 8, 1896, just moments after this letter was written.


"Paul Verlaine, your devoted friend, is living his last moments..."

In a phonetic french, she writes:
"Monsieur Paul Verlaine vautre dévoué ami est à la dernière extremite. Veuliez je vous emprie venire le voire desuite car peutetre demain il serai trop [tard]… Venez le plus vite posibl si vous vouloi voir votre ami. Monsieur mes amitiés empresse sons amie Eugénie Krantz. Priaire monsieur de venire desuite pour monsieur Paul Verlaine. […] Mlle Krantz 39 rue Descartes"


Verlaine died that evening at… Read More

DOSTOEVSKY, Fyodor (1821-1881)
Period albumen portrait by Vezenberg & CoSaint Petersburg [1879], cdv formatMounted on thin cardboard in the photorapher's creditSome superficial stains and flaws (see scan)
Very scarce portrait of the author of Crime and Punishment

This portrait, which has remained famous in the writer's iconography, shows Dostoevsky with a piercing gaze and a slight smile.
Good condition throughout.
Iconography:Album Dostoïevski, éd. G. Aucouturier et C. Menuet, Pléiade, p. 333, n°531

CELINE, Louis-Ferdinand (1894-1961)
Autograph letter signed "LFCéline" to his friends Descaves
Copenhagen, 7th July [1947], (c/o Mikkelsen), 2 pages in-folio
"France does not deserve its writers"
Moving letter from Céline looking back with despair on his eighteen months in prison


"Chers amis, Voici bien longtemps que nous sommes demeurés sans nouvelles. De notre côté une légère amélioration au point de vue légal grâce à la visite que Mikkelsen a faite à Paris à Naud et à d'autres amis. La Butte a donné à fond ! s'est donné à fond en ma faveur. L'impression a été admirable ! Je ne suis plus le damné total, la pourriture absolue. On commence à se rendre compte que l'on m'a bien martyrisé injustement alors que tant d'autres… s'en tirent glorieusement et fructueusement. Lucette heureusement a repris forme et santé. Je ne suis pas brillant. Je traîne. J'ai refait de la pellagre et une crise de rhumatisme abominable en dépit de la chaleur. La cellule, les hivers en cellule… Read More

VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)
Original photograph of Paul Verlaine by Paul Marsan, known as Dornac
Period albumen print, mounted on thick cardboard (140 x 190 mm) legended "Nos Contemporains chez eux" in the photographer's credit "Dornac & Cie, 10 rue Adam Mickiewicz"
[Café François 1er, boulevard St Michel, Paris, 28th May 1892], 135 x 180 mm
Slight fold on lower left margin of the cardboard, tiny chip on lower margin of the photograph, otherwise very good original condition
Timeless portrait of Verlaine, sitting on a bench at café François 1er, in front of a large glass of absinthe


The poet's eyes are a little murky; on the table, next to the glass lie a few sheets of paper, an inkwell, his cane and his hat.
This photograph immortalizes Verlaine in one of the cafés boulevard Saint-Michel where he had his habits and received writers, friends…
By the late 1880s, Dornac had undertaken a series of portraits of the celebrities of his time entitled Nos contemporains chez eux.
Verlaine's photography… Read More

TCHAÏKOVSKI, Piotr Ilitch (1840-1893)
Original photography by Alfred Lorens, S. Petersbourg
Period albumen print (1874). Name card format (10,4 x 6,4 cm)
Glued on cardboard in the photographer's name. Golden line on edge.
Lower margin very slightly cropped, some tiny spots
Remarkable condition throughout
Superb portrait of the Russian composer, then 33 years old. Tchaikovsky appears with his arms folded, with confident gaze


It was in the same year that Tchaikovsky composed his first piano concerto in B flat minor and which earned him a fierce critic by Nikolai Rubinstein.
On verso:
Period annotation on the back "Tchaikovsky" of an unknown hand
Photography workshop. Alfred Lorens – St. Petersburg
Nevsky Avenue, Bossé House, No. 5
Tchaikovsky's original photographs, contemporary of Swan Lake, are of the greatest rarity
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VERLAINE, Paul (1844-1896)
Original photograph of Paul Verlaine by Otto Wegener
[Paris, 1893], cabinet format (10,8 x 16,8 cm)
Period albumen portrait mounted on thick cardboard and embossed in the photographer's credit
Tiny spots, remarkable original condition
Famous and last portrait of the poet by Otto in preparation for his candidacy for the French Academy


Paul Verlaine commissioned the photographer to take a series of portraits when he considered applying for the Académie Française. Several tests are then carried out.
For these photographs, the poet poses with the famous scarf of the house Charvet, which had been given to him by Robert de Montesquiou.
Three years before his death, the poet appears the Socratic face, the hunchbacked forehead, his gaze sunk under the eyebrow arch, sporting the chamaré scarf of which he was so proud.
This portrait is one of the most famous of the poet, it is presented here in a remarkable state of preservation.
Swedish-born photographer Otto Wegener (1849-1922)… Read More

DELACROIX, Eugène (1798-1863)
Autograph letter signed " E Delacroix " to an unknown recipient
[Paris, 6 rue de Fürstenberg], 15 July 1863
1 page in-8 on double sheet.
Fold marks, some light stains.
Moving letter from Delacroix, one of his very last ones, less than a month before his passing


"Monsieur, Je garde la chambre et suis dans l'impossibilité de sortir. Je désirerais que vous ayez la bonté de faire suivant l'usage un certificat de vie, qui dans ces occasions demandent je crois votre intervention particulière. C'est une rente sur la national. Ayez monsieur les assurances de ma considération la plus distinguée. E Delacroix"


Delacroix's health had considerably deteriorated at the beginning of July 1863, evidenced here by an unprecise writing. The following week, he would confess to his long term friend George Sand "Writing is for me unbearable" . He would pass away on August 13th 1863.
This letter is not published in the general correspondence by Joubin.

RIMBAUD, Arthur (1854-1891)
Autograph letter signed " Rimbaud " to his familyAden, 10th September 1884, 4 pp. in-8° on laid paperSupplied with bespoke leather maroquin sleeve
Imbued with fatalism, Arthur Rimbaud speaks of his difficult existence in AdenOne of his most significant travel letters still in private hands
" I will not live nor die quietly "

" Mes chers amis,Il y a longtemps que je n'ai reçu de vos nouvelles : j'aime cependant à croire que tout va bien chez vous et je vous souhaite bonnes récoltes et long automne. Je vous crois en bonne santé et en paix comme d'ordinaire.Voici le troisième mois de mon nouveau contrat de six mois, qui va être passé. Les affaires vont mal, et je crois que fin décembre j'aurai à chercher un autre emploi, que je trouverai d'ailleurs facilement, je l'espère. Je ne vous ai pas envoyé mon argent parce que je ne sais pas où aller, je ne sais pas où je puis me trouver prochainement, et si je ne pourrai pas employer ces fonds dans quelque petit trafic… Read More

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)
Autograph draft of a poem fragmentN.p.n.d, [Guernesey, c. 1854], 1 p. in-12° on thin blue paperIrregular left margin (see scan)
Precious first drat manuscript containing three stanzas of the poem Tout le passé et tout l'avenir, published in La Légende des siècles
[We transcribe the fragment of the poem as published in 1877]
" Ils bravent l'océan plein de magnificenceOù flottent le mystère et la toute-puissance ;Ils souillent le gouffre irrité ;Sans prendre garde au vent qui s'épuise en huées,Ils lèvent leur bannière au milieu des nuées,Ces drapeaux de l'immensité !
Ils ont pour dieux la force et la ruse aux yeux louches ;Ils font chanter des chants aux trompettes farouchesDont nous, esprits, nous frissonnons,Et rouler, balafrant la nature sacrée,Sur les champs, sur les blés, sur les fleurs que Dieu créeLa roue horrible des canons.
Les générations meurent pour leur caprice.Ils disent au tombeau : Prends l'homme et qu'il périsse !Ô nains, pires que les… Read More

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)
"Mini" autograph letter signed " V. " to Émile AllixH[auteville] H[house], 25th July [1862], 2 p. small in-24° (4,3 x 6,8 cm), on blue laid paperWith autograph envelope (tear, see scan)Slight trace of unimportant oblique fold on the second page[Dry stamp:] S. Barset / June / 25 / High Street / Guernsey[Post mark:] 28 Jul[y] [18]62 / Ang[leterre] – Calais
An unpublished "thumbnail" letter to his personal doctor, announcing his departure for Belgium after the exhausting work of writing Les Misérables

" Merci, cher Monsieur Émile. Vous avez le dévouement le plus charmant du monde et vous entrez en fonctions avec tout l'esprit possible et une grâce parfaite. Votre lettre est une page toute étincelante. – Voici, imprimées, deux lettres qui vous intéresseront, si vous connaissez quelque journal qui trouve bon de les reproduire, faites. Je vais voir mon Charles dans quelques jours. Ce sera une joie profonde, et je la mérite un peu après ce lourd labeur. Quel dommage… Read More