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a handwritten letter from the president of france to his wifea handwritten letter from the president of the united statesa letter written in purple ink on a piece of papera handwritten letter from person to his motheran old black and white photo of a man holding a babythree black and white photographs of a man ' s head and a postcarda pile of old papers with writing on theman open book with a drawing of a bird on itsomeone is holding a book with a picture of a man on itsomeone is holding an open book in their hand on a white backgroundan old book with a picture of a man in a suit and tiean open book with a picture of a man on the cover of ita lot of old newspapers sitting on top of each othera letter from the president of france to his wifean old handwritten letter is open on a piece of paper
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34 - Maurice Barrès (1862–1923), writer and leading figure of Fre…
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Estimate €500 - €800
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Maurice Barrès (1862–1923), writer and leading figure of French nationalism A collection of correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, handwritten notes, press cuttings and miscellaneous items FIND THE FULL AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT IN OUR ONLINE AUCTION CATALOGUE 6 letters from the author (L.A.S.) and replies from the author (P.A.S.), 1921–1923, addressed to René Benjamin, including: Letter from the author, Paris, 5 August 1923; a long letter concerning the proofreading of the draft of René Benjamin’s biography My dear René Benjamin, I believe you have a second copy of these pages. Hence my audacity in jotting down two or three notes in pencil. What an awkward position you put me in, what an awkward position I risk putting you in! The whole matter is, however, easily resolved, if you will allow me to speak plainly, in peaceful and friendly candour. And first of all, thank you for all the kindness you have shown me with your extraordinary verve and that genius for movement. I fully understand what you set out to do. With the freedom of an Aristophanes, having formed a certain idea of a certain character, you give him free rein and emphasise as you see fit, for art is a caricature. Your freedom is clearly evident when you depict me alone in my home, and even in my home at night, or when you paint a Versailles congress or a session of the Chamber, the features of which are obviously simplified, condensed and synthesised. Here it is plain to see that you are creating a sketch, in which you employ the exaggerations that a free-spirited writer is known to make his stock-in-trade when depicting public figures. The first episode raises a more delicate question. Here one might believe it to be an interview. You have put words into my mouth which I must ask you to remove. I apologise for this inconvenience, and I am keeping my requests to a minimum. But here is the gist of it: A/ I like Millerand and I am proud of the part I played alongside him in the work of national reconciliation which he presides over and of which our list (in the last elections) was the prime example ( ) As for Albert de Mun, who has died ( ), I loved him; I admired and respected that sense of assurance and nobility in his demeanour and his thinking, that enthusiasm and that joyful grace. I analysed all this in writing some time ago and shall explain it to you in person. B/ It is absolutely impossible for me to give the impression of snubbing the voters and my fellow candidates on the list. What sense would that make? We get on perfectly well with one another. And this harmony is one of the greatest sources of satisfaction in my life. I am deeply grateful to my constituents, who, after twenty years in office, have allowed me to serve my country to the best of my ability and to express my ideas. ( ) I ask you, my dear Benjamin, to rectify the most serious of these misunderstandings and to delete what I have marked with a cross. I am annoyed, but if you have sent me this document, it is surely so that I might have my say on it, and I am keeping my complaint to a minimum because I respect your time, your work, your talent and your friendship, which I am anxious not to offend… 2 photographs of Maurice Barrès at the military cemetery in Mesnil in the Vosges on 28 August 1917, 12 x 9 cm 3 photographs of Maurice Barrès’s death mask, 16.5 x 12 cm *Le Soliloque* by Maurice Barrès, published by Fayard in 1924 Second manuscript corrected for publication in book form, December 1923, with a reader’s note added; handwritten draft with deletions and additions, 82 pp., in-8 Printer’s proofs with handwritten corrections, 113 pp. in-8 Maurice Barrès’s *Le Soliloque* Paris, Arthème Fayard & Cie, 1924 First edition on pure Lin Outhenin-Chalandre paper Paperback, 20.5 x 13 cm (foxing) Copy H.C. no. VIII/XXV Autograph dedication signed by René Benjamin to his mother Etc... FIND THE FULL AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT IN OUR ONLINE AUCTION CATALOGUE
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About the sale René Benjamin, the 20th-century Balzac scholar
Auction location
Auction time 10/06/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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