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a close up of a piece of paper with handwriting on it
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369 - Alphonse de LAMARTINE. Autograph letter, Château de Montculo…
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Estimate €500 - €700
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Description
Alphonse de LAMARTINE. Autograph letter, Château de Montculot near Dijon, 29 September 1829, [to the Marquise de Montcalm]; 4 pages, in-8. Application for membership of the Académie française (he was elected on 5 November). He had written to Villemain, and asks the Marquise to forward a letter to Chateaubriand: ‘This is to thank him for showing goodwill towards me in this matter. Mr Laisné [Lainé] wrote to me; I replied, asking him to submit my official application only at the very last moment before the election, and in the meantime we shall see whether my chances improve or diminish. If the prospects are extremely favourable, he will put me forward; if there is any doubt, he will say nothing of my wish. You must be laughing at my wish. ‘Wish’ is not really the right word. I have no such desire myself. Rather, a sense of aversion. But my father is 77 years old; he is therefore of the old regime, and as such he regards a seat in parliament as the pinnacle of earthly glory. I would like to give him that joy before his twilight years.” He is waiting for a decision to be made regarding his fate, as far as his diplomatic career is concerned, and is ‘determined to tender my resignation if I am subjected to any further injustice, and to remain in political seclusion and neutrality, which reflect my innermost feelings regarding all this’. He concludes by recalling his first meeting with the Marquise, to whom he had been introduced by his friend Aymon de Virieu, marking the beginning of their friendship: ‘From the day Mr de Virieu led me into your drawing room and I saw that sensitive, delicate, gentle, kind and pained face of yours on your sofa, I felt something for you without knowing why, and that feeling has not diminished since that day’…
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part II
Auction location
Auction time 10/14/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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