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an old envelope with a letter and a stamp on ita handwritten letter from a man who is holding a piece of paperan old postcard with a picture of a mountain and a postcard with a picture of a mountainan image of a handwritten letter written in blue ink on a piece of paper
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1458 - COCTEAU (Jean). Autograph letter in ballpoint pen, signed ‘J…
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Estimate CHF 300 - CHF 500
Sale commission
Description
COCTEAU (Jean). Autograph letter in ballpoint pen, signed ‘Jean Cocteau’, addressed to Jean Dauven, with its envelope. No place, no date. 1 pp. in-12, stamped envelope. An interesting letter addressed to the writer and translator Jean Dauven, who had published several translations of Peter Cheyney’s detective novels under the pseudonym Louis Chantemèle, including *Can Ladies Kill?*. Cocteau informally expresses his surprise and delight at discovering that Dauven was the person behind this pseudonym. The letter’s closing line, ‘We must give our experiment a go’, takes on particular significance in light of their subsequent collaboration. An admirer of the lively, slang-filled language of Cheyney’s novels, Cocteau did indeed entrust Dauven with the task of adapting his acceptance speech to the Académie française into this style. This linguistic experiment gave rise to *Jean Cocteau chez les sirènes*. A Linguistic Experiment, published in 1956, the genesis of which our document appears to allude to.
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About the sale Collectables & Curiosities – Light fittings – Works of art – Clocks – Mirrors – Furniture – Rugs
Auction location
Auction time 09/22/2026 at 10:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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