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a close up of a piece of paper with writing on ita handwritten letter from the canadian pacific on a piece of papera close up of a piece of paper with writing on itan old handwritten letter from a man who is writing a poeman old handwritten letter from a man who is writing a poema black and white drawing of a statue on a wall
KÂ- MONDO / KAPANDJI MORHANGE

227 - MORAND, Paul. 1 autograph letter and 1 autograph postcard, b…
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Estimate €200 - €300
Sale commission
Description
MORAND, Paul. 1 autograph letter and 1 autograph postcard, both signed, addressed to Abel Bonnard. Correspondence relating to Abel Bonnard’s *En Chine*, which Paul Morand had read, and to the journey he himself undertook to Asia following the publication of *L’Europe galante*. 1 page, in-12 format (140 x 90 mm), on the reverse of a photographic view of the Basilica of La Madone in Vézelay, and 4 pages, in-8 format (213 x 137 mm), on printed letterhead of the Canadian Pacific (the liner Empress of Australia). 21 June 1924 and 18 July 1925. 21 June 1924: he congratulates Abel Bonnard on winning the Académie Française’s Grand Prix de Littérature for *En Chine*. “Your book has made its mark there as elsewhere; everywhere this judgement is endorsed, and I am delighted by it”… 19 July 1925: whilst travelling to Asia aboard the SS Empress of Australia, he reread *En Chine*, reflects on his forthcoming journey and mentions the hasty promotion of *L’Europe Galante* that he had carried out “in a rush” before his departure. “I am more or less the only passenger on a 25,000-tonne liner, for China, with all its gunfire, does not at present appeal to the cautious Anglo-Saxons”… He speaks of Beijing, where he intends to stay, and savours the pages written about it by Abel Bonnard: “At a time when everyone has nothing but a jumble of ideas in their mouths and minds, you still teach us to think clearly and deeply, without the style losing any of its magic!” This is followed by a paragraph on *L’Europe Galante*: “When immoral behaviour is public, it must also be so in books. We are not puritans, but moralists—all of us, the French writers”…
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About the sale Sale of collectable books and first editions – Varia III –
Auction location
Auction time 09/14/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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