1 / 8
several old papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfacean old document with a piece of paper on top of it and a piece of paper on the bottom of ita close up of a piece of paper with a red sticker on itseveral papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfacethe cover of a book with a tassel on top of ita book with a drawing of a man in a military uniforman open book with a tassel on top of itan open book with a drawing of a man and a woman on it
ROUILLAC

161 - Jacques Visseaux (1872–1952), a leading industrialist from L…
See original version (French)

Estimate €200 - €400
Sale commission
Description
Jacques Visseaux (1872–1952), a leading industrialist from Lyon Lot comprising correspondence and documents FIND THE FULL AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT IN OUR ONLINE AUCTION CATALOGUE 37 handwritten letters and postcards, 1936–1950, addressed to René Benjamin and his son François, including A typewritten copy of the letter, dated 27 November 1941, addressed to General Weygand, offering him two works written by René Benjamin Letter, Lyon, 4 March 1943; a fervent and passionate endorsement of Auguste Lumière’s scientific work. Visseaux draws on articles by the renowned Lyon-based criminologist, Dr Edmond Locard, and the journalist Alexis Soulignac to defend Lumière’s unorthodox theories Confidential copy of the letter dated 29 June 1943 addressed to Dr Ménétrel, private adviser to Marshal Pétain, in which Visseaux expresses a desire to become more involved in the National Revolution L.S., Lyon, 17 May 1944; this lengthy letter bears witness to a radical ideological shift. It reveals Jacques Visseaux’s complete alignment with the hardest-line and most extremist fringe of French collaboration on the eve of the Liberation. He was responding to the confidences of René Benjamin, who had returned from Vichy deeply moved at having found Marshal Pétain ‘dejected and sad’ and speaking of his own death. To overcome this dismay, the industrialist clings to the extremist figures within the government: Philippe Henriot (Secretary of State for Information and Propaganda) and Joseph Darnand (Secretary of State for the Interior and head of the Milice). Visseaux praised their courage and encouraged Benjamin to become their ‘spiritual herald’ through his writing. He adopts the rhetoric of the French Milice and describes Darnand’s actions as necessary to ‘curb the activities of criminals and murderers’ (referring to the Resistance) and lambasts ‘terrorist attacks’. He contrasts Henriot’s radio propaganda (deemed to be of ‘incomparable quality’) with the ‘nonsense’ and ‘cries of hatred’ emanating from the dissidents. He insults ‘the Jews of London and Algiers’ who denigrate Pétain and portrays the domestic Resistance (‘Honour and Fatherland’) as a mere smokescreen of lies orchestrated by ‘Russian Communism’. L.S., Palais Beauséjour, Cannes, 3 November 1946; aged 74, the industrialist from Lyon is tending to his material and legal wounds after weathering the storm of the Purge Words of the Marshal Lyon Silk Manufacturers’ Union, June 1941 Deluxe edition 5 pp., 24 x 18.5 cm Portrait of Marshal Pétain woven from silk threads using a Jacquard loom Cover with title printed in gold lettering; in the centre is the Francisque with the official motto Work, Family, Fatherland Donated by Jacques Visseaux on 7 December 1941 FIND THE FULL AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT IN OUR ONLINE AUCTION CATALOGUE
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
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
You may also like