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Aurélien Lechertier MDV
17
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Emile BERGERAT (1845–1923), a versatile writer, poet and pam…
See original version (French)
17
-
Emile BERGERAT (1845–1923), a versatile writer, poet and pam…
See original version (French)
Estimate €200 - €300
Voluntary lot
Description
Emile BERGERAT (1845–1923), a versatile writer, poet and pamphleteer, endowed with humour and imagination, son-in-law of Théophile Gautier.
A set of 6 signed autograph letters, comprising 9 pages in-8 and 3 pages in-12:
- The first, dated July 1882, is addressed to the actor Adolphe Dupuis, asking him to accept the lead role in his comedy *Le Nom*, proposed by Charles de La Rounat, director of the Théâtre de l’Odéon: “no one better than you will be able to bring my vision to life more eloquently”.
- The second and third letters, on *Le Figaro* letterhead, are addressed to Abraham Dreyfus, dated June and October 1890, concerning the dispute between Bergerat and Porel, which lasted several years, centred on a production of “Le Capitaine Fracasse”, based on the work by Théophile Gautier. The stage adaptation that Bergerat had written, which Porel either rejected or hesitated to stage, prompted Bergerat to lodge a complaint against him.
- The fourth letter, dated 22 April 1901, addressed “to his dear friend”, probably Paul Adam or Jules Clarétie, is a complaint regarding the estimated price of his work: “I would never have agreed to give you the first [dozen] for five louis had I not wished to help you as best I could to launch your publication”, a “friendly sacrifice”, “wages here are not measured by the task (…) Be that as it may, I am neither rich enough nor poor enough to give it away for nothing”, then he mentions Mr Juven’s refusal to do him a favour “a small favour which would have been very easy for him to do, and that was to publish in *Le Rire* the portrait that Léandre drew of me (…) you can imagine the Parisian nudge that this publication would have given me. I did not get what I wanted, even after bringing Arsène Alexandre into the matter”.
- The fifth letter, dated 17 August 1901, addressed “to his Péric”, the actor Louis Péricaud, concerning *La Pompadour*, a play written by Émile Bergerat (a dramatic comedy premiered on 13 November 1901 at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin in Paris). Bergerat also mentions a young actor whom he nicknames “Chatterton”, an actor he considers talented but fragile: “I find him very interesting, as do all of you, but isn’t his pronunciation in need of improvement? I found it a bit slurred (…) Has he learnt d’Etioles’ monologue? (…) We could always have him learn the part so he can stand in should anything go wrong”.
- The last letter is addressed to a colleague, undated, concerning his play *Flore de Frileuse*.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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