BRISCADIEU BORDEAUX
256
-
Autograph letters WEY (Francis)
Set of 5 volumes by the auth…
See original version (French)
256
-
Autograph letters WEY (Francis)
Set of 5 volumes by the auth…
See original version (French)
Estimate €150 - €200
Voluntary lot
Description
Autograph letters
WEY (Francis)
Set of 5 volumes by the author:
- *Les enfants du marquis de Ganges ou les expiations*. Paris, Bourmancé, 1838.
Contemporary brown half-chagrin binding, red author’s and title labels on a spine with faux raised bands, gilt fillets, gilt coat of arms on the upper cover, albumin-printed photograph of the author on the flyleaf.
- *Scilla e carriddi*. Paris, Arthus Bertrand, 1843.
2 volumes. ½ plum-coloured calfskin of the period, smooth spines with faded decoration, rocaille metalwork, gilded coat of arms on the upper cover, albumen photograph of the author on the flyleaf. Autograph dedication in pencil by the author to Charles de Mandre.
An autograph signed letter from the author to Madame Désirée Nodier, wife of the French writer, novelist and member of the Académie Française, Charles Nodier.
- *Le diamant noir*. *Romans et nouvelles II*. Paris, Dolin, 1843.
Contemporary plum-coloured half-calf, smooth spine with faded decoration, rocaille metal fittings, gilded coat of arms on the upper cover.
Albumen photograph of the author on the flyleaf. Autograph letter signed by the author.
- *La balle de plomb*. Novels and Short Stories I. Paris, Dolin, 1843.
Contemporary half plum calf, smooth spine with faded decoration, rocaille metal fittings, gilded coat of arms on the upper cover.
Albumen photograph of the author on the flyleaf. Autograph letter from the author (1852).
5 volumes in-8. Each volume bears the gilded coat of arms of Charles de Mandre, with his printed bookplate.
* Francis Wey (1812–1882), French archivist, palaeographer, writer and historian. He was appointed inspector of the Departmental Archives in 1853. He was a member of the Heliographic Society.
He discovered Charles Nodier’s *L’Arsenal* and met Victor Hugo, Gérard de Nerval and Théophile Gautier.
Wey was one of the earliest critics of photography, writing a scathing piece against the intrusive proliferation of detail in daguerreotype portraits. In his ‘Theory of the Portrait’, published in *La Lumière*, the first periodical devoted to photography (1851), Wey presents a scenario featuring bodies cut into pieces, or else too many things to see—too many objects, too many wrinkles, too many features—which distract and seem to erase the unity of the body.
He was photographed by Nadar, lithographed by Benjamin Roubaud and painted by Gustave Courbet, with whom he was associated.
Provenance: Works from the library of Charles de Mandre, bearing his gilded coat of arms and printed bookplate.
Charles de Mandre (1805–1875), a close associate of the Emperor, was personally ennobled in 1867 and was authorised to remove the particle ‘de’ from his surname following the act of ennoblement. He served as chairman of the board of directors of the Ronchamp Coal Mines, mayor of Aillevillers, a member of the Haute-Saône General Council, a lieutenant of the wolf hunt, a Knight of the Legion of Honour and a Knight of Malta.
Charles de Mandre had built up a vast library, the sale of which took place over nine sessions from 31 January to 9 February 1887.
The books, most of which were filled with autograph letters from the authors, were what made this library so unique.
De Mandre sought out letters during his stays in Paris, but also asked his friends to sift through their personal correspondence to help him complete his collection.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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