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Premium Maître Pierre TURPIN

306 - Victor HUGO (1802–1885) – Signed autograph letter to the Bel…
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Estimate €800 - €1,000
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Description
Victor HUGO (1802–1885) – Signed autograph letter to the Belgian poet and journalist Charles Potvin (1818–1902). 2 pp. in-12. Hauteville House, 25 December [1859]. Address on the reverse. An interesting letter concerning the American Civil War, protesting against the hanging of the American abolitionist John Brown on 2 December 1859 in Virginia, who had called for an uprising to abolish slavery, but who was also responsible for the Pottawatomie Massacre. ‘My dear and eloquent poet, I had sent you, via Noël Parfait for Le National, the few lines I wrote about that great martyr John Brown. As Parfait was away, my letter did not reach you, nor did a small errand I had entrusted him with for you, and I deeply regretted this.I would have liked to prevent this great crime, but now that it has been committed, my opinion and that of all the outlaws who are in communion with me is that the Republic must protest through all its organs, on pain of abdication and, I might add, complicity, against this atrocity committed by a wretched little slave state that dares to take and dishonour the great name of republic. The cry I have raised is useful, but it is important that it be sustained. We must aid the northern states against the southern states. The question of America has been raised. Europe must intervene there in the name of principles. Please accept my earnest appeal to your noble and valiant spirit to give serious attention to all these great duties. The martyr Brown has a right to count on you. A warm handshake. Victor Hugo.” Expert consultancy: Emmanuel Lorient of Traces écrites in Paris
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About the sale Part 1: SALE OF TABLES FROM THE CROZANT SCHOOL AND MISCELLANEOUS - Part 2: SALE OF DESIGN FURNITURE AND OBJECTS
Auction location
Auction time 06/26/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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