Paulhan, Jean, French writer (1884-1968). Typed letter signed and autograph letter signed.

€ 220.00

From Paulhan's correspondence with the publisher, writer, and graphologist Maurice Delamain. In the typed letter from 1937, Paulhan inquires whether Delamain will attend a discussion of a book by Albert Thibaudet and whether he has read an article by Henri Rambaud. In an autograph postscript, he asks Delamain if he does not wish to intervene, presumably referring to the discussion of Thibaudet's book, also mentioning that his son is reading a book on Napoleon and Balzac in school.

The letter dated only 9 December originally accompanied "notes on psychiatry", apparently written by the 16-year-old Francis Ponge, for a graphological analysis. In the highly interesting postscript, Paulhan politely questions the pseudo-scientific practice, suspecting that it operates on the basis of psychological presuppositions that it cannot verify on its own terms. And while Freud would assert that there is always "an unconscious motive", others, like the philosopher Alain (Émile-Auguste Chartier), question such notions: "But is there necessarily an unconscious motive? This is where you need a psychological (or philosophical) bias. Freud would say yes, Alain would say no. Do you have a graphological reason for saying yes, or for saying no? That is the problem, and I think it is a very serious one (for the very dignity of graphology)" (transl.). Paulhan also mentions that he found a letter by Francis Ponge's uncle Alfred Saurel, which indicates that Delamain was interested in Ponge's handwriting and that the "notes on psychiatry" were indeed Ponge's.

The letter from 1937 on stationery of the Nouvelle Revue française.