an old handwritten letter with a picture of a man in a suit and tie
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Estimate €500 - €800
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[Literature] Gabriele d’Annunzio (1863–1938), writer Autograph letter, [Paris], March 1915, addressed to Alice Grosclaude (née Kohn), widow of Edmond Beer, 1 page, in-8, bearing his motto ‘Per non dormire’ (framed) Madam and dear neighbour, on my return from the countryside, I found your gracious invitation. Thank you. I shall come tomorrow evening. Best wishes to Grosclaude. I kiss your hands. Yours, Gabriele d’Annunzio Alice Grosclaude, née Kohn (1861–1936), was a central figure in Parisian Jewish high society, the widow of Edmond Beer, a family closely linked to the Rothschild dynasty. Her remarriage in December 1913 to Etienne Grosclaude cemented the union between the world of aristocratic high finance and that of media influence. Etienne Grosclaude (1858–1932) was a renowned journalist, humourist and publicist, who served as editor-in-chief of the prestigious daily newspaper *Le Journal* until January 1915. Known by the pseudonym Philidor, he epitomised the Belle Époque intellectual, wielding puns and satire with a deftness that earned him the admiration of his contemporaries, from Jules Lemaître to Léon Daudet. A member of the Ligue de la patrie française, he embodied a cultured form of nationalism that was open to international issues, making him a natural ally for d’Annunzio, who was seeking to rally French public opinion in favour of Italian intervention. The reference in the letter to ‘on returning from the countryside’ alludes to d’Annunzio’s dual existence during his years in France (1910–1915). Burdened with debts in Italy, he had taken refuge in France, dividing his time between Paris and his villa at Saint-Dominique in Arcachon. This Arcachon ‘countryside’ was the setting for his most ethereal works, far from the turmoil of the capital, but it was also there that he forged his arguments in favour of intervention, keenly observing the unfolding of the European conflict.
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Auction time 10/08/2026 at 2:00 PM
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