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Leducq Maison de Ventes aux enchères
25
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A collaboration that turns sour
See original version (French)
25
-
A collaboration that turns sour
See original version (French)
Estimate €150 - €200
Voluntary lot
Description
A collaboration that turns sour
F. GAILLARDET. To the voters of the Yonne! Manifesto and Reflections on the Republican System of the United States. Paris, Imprimerie Administrative Paul Dupont, 1848.
In-8, loose sheets, untrimmed, sent as is.
30 pp.
An interesting pamphlet, not so much for the manifesto of the parliamentary candidate as for the opening pages in which Frédéric Gaillardet recounts to his (el)ectorate his disputes with Alexandre Dumas during the performances of his play *La Tour de Nesle* in 1832. Although published under Gaillardet’s name, this play had in fact been written by Dumas.
Its premiere at the Porte Saint-Martin on 29 May 1832 was a triumph and marked the beginning of Dumas’s troubles. The young Gaillardet, from whom Dumas had merely borrowed the initial idea to create a drama in his own style, felt wronged, despite the triumph and even though he was the only one credited.
Threats of legal action, a press campaign – the more successful the play became, the more Gaillardet seethed with anger and demanded a duel! The conciliatory Dumas eventually managed to bring the young upstart to his senses, and the play continued its run.
In 1848, Dumas, who harboured political ambitions, also stood for election as a Member of Parliament for the Yonne constituency. This was yet another affront to Gaillardet, who had never got over Dumas’s ‘theft’ of his play, and who now found an opportunity to tell the story in his own way.
Enclosed:
- A second copy without a dedication.
- (Manuscript) – Alexandre DUMAS. Mr Gaillardet’s reply. Signed autograph manuscript, fragment from Dumas’s Memoirs. 1 p. in-4
- Messrs Frédéric GAILLARDET & Alexandre DUMAS. *La Tour de Nesle*, a drama in five acts and nine scenes. Paris, Barba, Delloyre, Bezou, 1833.
In-8, sewn, printed pink cover.
pp. 205–242. The cover bears, as on the first edition, ‘MM. Frédéric GAILLARDET and ***’.
- F. GAILLARDET & Alexandre DUMAS. *La Tour de Nesle*, a drama in five acts and nine scenes. Paris, Calmann Lévy, n.d.
In-12, paperback with a worn cover.
[2 ff.], 98 pp.
- Alexandre DUMAS. My Memoirs. Ninth series. New edition. Paris, Michel Lévy, 1970.
In-12, half-basane, spine worn, cover preserved.
This volume of the Memoirs deals in part with the trial involving Gaillardet. Handwritten notes by Gaillardet’s solicitors are interleaved throughout.
- Léon CLÉRY. Memories of the Palace. Paris, Lemerre, n.d.
In-8, paperback, foxing.
[2 ff.], 380 pp., [2 ff.]
The volume opens with the latest developments concerning the Tour de Nesle which took place in… 1887, at a time when there was talk of erecting a statue to Alexandre Dumas. Gaillardet’s heirs brought a lawsuit to prevent the title of this work from appearing on the plinth alongside Dumas’s other works.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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