4 autograph letters signed.
8vo and small 8vo. Together 8 pp.
€ 1,800.00
Rare and interesting collection of letters written over two decades. Probably the earliest of the undated letters is addressed to a literary critic at the "Journal des Débats" in connection with Colet's 1844 translation of Tommaso Campanella's Selected Works. Colet reminds the recipient of his promise to publish an article on her publication, which had been awarded a translation prize: "L'autre jour et aujourd'hui encore j'ai pris la liberté de passer chez vous pour rappeler à votre souvenir mon Campanella sur lequel vous m'aviez fait espérer que vous voudriez bien faire un article. Je voulais vous dire Monsieur, de quelle importance il serait pour moi que cet article parût. Dans le courant de la semaine prochaine, mon Campanella est réservé pour un prix de traduction ; l'académie le prononcera dans huit jours, et un article de vous Monsieur, dans le journal des débats me serait d'un puissant appui. Pardonnez-moi mon importunité Monsieur, mais j'en compte sur votre bonté en cette circonstance [...]".
The most intriguing of the present letters can be dated with some certainty to 1845-49, as Colet addresses an intimate friend or family member of Juliette Récamier (1777-1849), following her own visit to the ailing salonnière. Apparently, Colet had intended to recite to Récamier a poem written in memory of a recently deceased mutual friend, but ultimately refrained, considering her ill health. Therefore, she expresses her hope that the recipient will find the right moment to read the poem to Récamier. It is conceivable that the deceased friend was none other than François-René de Chateaubriand, Juliette Récamier's closest friend and an early patron of Colet's literary career. Before her death in 1849, Récamier entrusted Louise Colet with the publication of her correspondence with Benjamin Constant, which she saw through the press in 1863.
Two letters that can be dated to 1857 and 1862, respectively, were addressed to the "director of the feuilleton" at "La Presse", both concerning potential publications. In 1857, Colet offered to the journal an essay on the Isle of Wight, hoping that it would be published in the feuilleton or variété sections. The text was ultimately published in "Le monde illustré" on 23 May 1857. Colet was equally unlucky with "La Presse" when she offered her novel "Les petites passions dans les grands paysages" to the editor in 1862. In this case, "Le Constitutionnel" stepped in and published Colet's work between 3 and 11 October 1862. In this letter, Colet mentions Victor Hugo's friend Auguste Vacquerie.
Well preserved
