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Description
[War of 1870–1871]
*Pas Brave! An episode from the invasion of 1870–1871*, a unique and unpublished manuscript
"Not Brave! An episode from the 1870–71 invasion", unpublished autograph manuscript, written by L. Gautier between 1872 and 1874, 281 pages, including a table of contents and the author’s notes throughout, 21 x 16 cm, illustrated with 12 original hand-drawn illustrations (ink, wash and gouache on dark card), signed and dated ‘L. G. 1873’.
The volume opens with two separate dedications: a personal dedication addressed to ‘Dear Marie’ (dated Christmas Eve 1873), Marie Guichard, wife of Firmin Mariette, to whom the book is presented; a note addressed to Firmin Mariette, a railway employee, dated 11 December 1873, presenting the ‘meagre manuscript’.
The last page of the manuscript contains a letter copied out to his sister Eulalie Gautier, in which he explains that this novel is the literary adaptation of a family puppet show in which they played the characters.
The plot of this historical fiction is set in the village of Bourville, a hamlet situated on the Ousson stream, near Briare, during the invasion and occupation by Prussian troops in the 1870–1871 war. It tells the story of an occupied village and the fate of Justin, who is in love with Jeanne, and who twice proves his courage by saving two people – one from drowning and the other from a fire.
Enclosed: 10 handwritten documents from the 18th and 19th centuries, including an extract from the ruling of the Parliament of Toulouse entering Etienne François Combet, a lawyer, on the register of court applicants (1780); a bachelor’s degree from 1820; the 1821 appointment of Henri Laget as pastor of the consistorial church of Aigues-Vives (Gard)
+ Alais Hospice, regulations, Nîmes, printed by Goubier, 1917.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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