Premium Leducq Maison de Ventes aux enchères
168
-
Alexandre DUMAS the Younger. 40 signed autograph letters to …
See original version (French)
168
-
Alexandre DUMAS the Younger. 40 signed autograph letters to …
See original version (French)
Estimate €800 - €1,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Alexandre DUMAS the Younger. 40 signed autograph letters to his daughter Jeannine. Approximately 190 pp.
– [1873] ‘As you are always so sensible and cautious, I was quite sure that nothing would happen to you… I was only worried about that mad Colette, who never has her eyes on the same side as her feet. Tell her that whenever she wants to see me again, all she has to do is write to me saying she knows her Roman history – though it won’t be enough just to write it to me; she’ll have to prove it to me…’ – undated “When you write to me, you’ll write everything you have to say in twelve-foot verses. If you make any mistakes, I’ll correct them… ” – [1876] Your friend Fould, who isn’t quite as sensible as you, couldn’t help himself… he drank that infernal concoction, and it is on him that the gods have taken their revenge. He’s been restless all night and, since this morning, he’s been dashing to the loo, looking like a little madwoman…’ – 3 October 1878. My dear little Jeannot. You’re quite right to ask me to sign off as your son, for you really are the boy of the family. When Collette was born, I’d told the good Lord to do as He pleased… but when I saw that this girl was a proper madcap, I asked for a boy. There weren’t any left that year, but the Good Lord said to me: ‘Take this girl as well…’ So you’ll have a daughter and a son rolled into one, which will save you a great deal of money and give you great pleasure…’ – undated ‘I realised straight away that you were too serious a soul for me to need to make you sing hymns in churches or make you take communion at a certain age and on a certain day of the year. ‘When we’re in the countryside this summer, now that you’re a big boy, we’ll read the Gospels together and you’ll try to live as they advise…’ – undated. He’s restoring the house at Marly: ‘When your mother was in good health, she preferred to play solitaire rather than concern herself with such matters, unworthy of her background… try to learn how to do it again, as your mother has, until now, stubbornly tried to make you forget…’
– “You will have to take very serious steps to prepare yourself to take charge of the household. It is impossible for your mother to continue to impose this task upon herself. She no longer has sufficient health, organisation or patience… ” – “Here is a box for the first performance of Daudet’s play. Give it to Colette, making it clear that neither she nor her husband must utter a single word of criticism or disapproval…. ’ – Undated. He thanks her for her letter but adds, ‘When you’re completely sensible, I’ll be completely happy. That won’t be long now. You’re far too intelligent and loyal not to realise that a scheme has been hatched against you, one in which your sensitivity will initially be humiliated until your common sense laughs at it…’ – ‘Tell your mother not to be jealous. I love only the three of you. ’ – Two verses, undated. ‘The weather is splendid and the house is ready / If you don’t come, you’ll be a fool.’ – [1890]. ‘You must have… very serious reasons to have the courage to declare publicly that the ideas by which I live and will die are false, and to protest in front of everyone against the upbringing I have given you to this day. I had given you complete freedom; you are exercising it—that is your right—and I hold no blame against you… The Church certainly possesses a supernatural power. I have no reproaches to make of myself regarding you, not a single one, any more than I do regarding your sister, who has also betrayed me, though less openly than you and in a different way…’ – 20 May 1895. ‘If Madame d’Hauterive has not yet understood why I am ceasing to see her and her husband, it is because she has not read carefully the letters I wrote to her and her husband. Let her read them again… Let this be made clear once and for all. My decision is, I repeat, for the hundredth time, absolutely irrevocable.” – 21 June 1895. “Your letter gave me the greatest pleasure… Your rooms – yours and your husband’s – are always at your disposal at Marly and Puits, and you will be most welcome whenever you care to come… ” – “I am delighted to be able to give you this wardrobe… anything that might please you, whether at your mother’s or at my house, is at your disposal…” – 6 November 1895 (last letter?). “The move is going ahead bit by bit without too much trouble. It seems you could do with a maid, as not having one is tiring you out a great deal, but your budget is tight; Henriette has said you could take on the girl from Campion…”
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like