"I am having fun with a very nice marten called Gibeline": a cheerful childhood letter by Toulouse-Lautrec
Autograph letter signed ("Henry de Toulouse Lautrec").
8vo. 4 pp. on bifolium.
€ 8,500.00
Charming and exceedingly rare childhood letter to his great-aunt Amandine d'Alichoux de Sénégra, addressed as "Tata", thanking her for a pocket-knife and providing her with updates on the family. Toulouse-Lautrec also mentions that his mother was relieved that he has "given up one of [his] canes for the inside", which points to the fateful fractures of his femurs in 1877 and 1878 that would never fully heal and interrupted the growth of his legs. The translated letter in full: "I have come to give you good news about mother, who had an excellent trip. She was happy to see that I had given up one of my canes for the inside. I also have to thank you for my lovely knife. It is absolutely what I was looking for in terms of blades and appearance. My two cousins left with great courage. The others miss them very much. Kiki is very kind to her 'pannin'. Marianne is a little indisposed today. But granny Gabrielle says it is the fog. Papa's last hawk had just died when the carriage ['patache'] that brought Mama entered the yard. I am having fun with a very nice marten called Gibeline. Goodbye my dear aunt. Mama joins me in giving you a heartfelt kiss".
Amandine d'Alichoux de Sénégra (d. 1893) was not the biological great-aunt of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's, as she was the sister of the first wife of his paternal grandfather Léonce Tapié de Celeyran, while his mother Adèle was the daughter of his second wife. Nevertheless, Amandine remained close to the family and particularly to the young Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, as documented in the charming letter.
Stained and with deep tears to the folds, partly affecting the text. With traces of old restoration.
