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121 - Jean-Baptiste SAY (1767–1832). 2 letters, Paris 1831–1832, t…
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Estimate €500 - €700
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Description
Jean-Baptiste SAY (1767–1832). 2 letters, Paris 1831–1832, to Constance, Princess of Salm; 1 page in-8 and 2½ pages in-4, one address. 28 April 1831. As the princess has moved from Rue du Bac to Rue Richer, Say is delighted to ‘become your neighbour by joining my daughter, Madame Comte, two floors above you; and I am not such a surly bear as to be unable to feel the desire to offer you my modest and respectful homage. […] It has been many years since we last saw each other, Madam; but those years have taken their toll only on me, for wit and charm know no age’… 2 May 1832: during the cholera epidemic, he reassures the Princess about her situation and that of their neighbourhood, which seems to have been spared: ‘Not only do we not have a single case of cholera in our three-household residence, nor in any of the adjoining properties, nor in those opposite, but the Sabatier boarding school and its 200 pupils have not been affected […]; the greatest harm the cholera has done in our neighbourhood, madam, has been to keep you far away from it”. However, there have been some deaths, including that of “Madame de Laclos, the author’s widow, who is certainly no ‘Dangerous Liaisons’”. The Duvals are well; Amaury has married off his daughter. ‘Ever since our Prime Minister, following an order from Dr Esquirol, swapped his embroidered coat for a (historic) straitjacket, I have been plunged into grief ’ [Casimir Périer, stricken with cholera, died on 16 May]. The performances continue, however, and he was unable to find a seat ‘in the vast auditorium of the Opéra to hear Paganini. […] There was a moment of consternation when it became apparent that cholera was striking down so-called respectable people, sometimes killing them within 24 hours, but that moment of terror is beginning to pass, and now people are making jokes about this terrible enemy’. He urges the Princess to return to Rue Richer…
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part I
Auction location
Auction time 10/13/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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