Alexandre DUMAS, Jr., and his family. Correspondence with Count Joseph...
Alexandre DUMAS, Jr., and his family. Correspondence with Count Joseph PRIMOLI. 1872–1881 and undated.
Through his mother—as a result of intermarriage—Joseph Primoli was descended from Joseph and Lucien Bonaparte, brothers of the Emperor. He had completed all his education in France, where his family had settled in 1853 and remained until 1870. Dumas the Younger treated him with paternal affection, and Primoli maintained close ties with the entire family throughout his life.
- Alexandre DUMAS, Jr. Photographic portrait. Cabinet-size print bearing the following inscription: “To Joseph Primoli, his friend, A. Dumas, Jr.”
- Joseph PRIMOLI. 4 autograph letters signed to Alexandre Dumas, Jr. 29 pp. in-8.
December 20, 1872 – After an evening spent with Dumas. “You must have thought me quite a fool for failing to find the words to express to you all the respect, affection, and gratitude my heart held.” Back in Rome, he is overcome by “the indescribable sadness of being far from dear Paris, which one admires despite its ruins just as one loves it despite its faults… To remain connected to France by a living thread, I’d had the idea of joining a French newspaper… to stir up within myself that spirit of emulation without which one ends up doing nothing—and which I miss completely here in Rome… Just as in Paris one goes to the Italian opera, in Rome one goes to the Comédie Française. We currently have a charming actress, Mme. Esquier Samary—niece of the Brohans—who has performed in *The Lady of the Camellias*, *The Friend of Women* (first version), and *Princess Georges*. Needless to say, these plays were a great success…”—January 11, 1874. He sent her some treats. “I remember that Mlle. Colette especially likes garlic sausage, but I didn’t dare send her any this time, for fear of making her suitcase stink… You really must come; we’re waiting for you.” He’d like to break free from his idleness. “In Paris, at least, one goes with the flow; elsewhere, there’s only the whirlpool that engulfs you.” – undated. His father will be in Paris for the entire month of September. “I recommend him to you because he is used to living among us, and I fear he will soon feel isolated. Send him some theater tickets, if you have any on hand; that is the nicest thing you can do for him.” – November 17, 1874. “Why do I send you my letters so rarely? It’s because I write to you too often… my letter becomes endlessly long… I find it simpler to tear it up.” “God has given me neither the ambition to succeed nor the energy to persevere; so I very much fear I will never be the ‘arm of steel’ whose role you have outlined for me.” A lengthy discussion on what makes a good diplomat—whose ideal is, after all, not that of a scoundrel? “Above all, you advise me not to fall in love… Despite all my desire, I cannot fall in love. I do not know if it is because, living continually with you through thought and reading, I am too deeply imbued with your doctrines and have allowed reason to overwhelm my heart…. Sometimes, I ask myself quietly… Could it be that I have no heart? But I feel it—it comes, throbbing, to prove me wrong; it beats when I embrace my mother, when I find myself near a pretty woman, or when I receive a letter from you…”
- Alexandre DUMAS, Jr. 4 telegrams and a note (3 lines) signed to Count Primoli.
- Joseph PRIMOLI to Émile de la Charlotterie (godson of Dumas, Jr.). 2 pp. in-8, 4 pp. in-12.
- Undated. On a controversy he cannot explain. “Alexandre Dumas was the best of men, as he was the wittiest, and all who knew him well were deeply attached to him.”
- Nadine DUMAS. 11 signed autograph letters and a calling card to Count Primoli. 1880–1881 and undated.
- [1880], 36 pp., 8vo. “You are such a dear friend to us that I don’t want to let anyone else have the pleasure of telling you about Colette’s wedding… Colette says that if you don’t come, she’ll go all the way to Rome to introduce her husband to you.” – May 24 [1880]. “The tapestry is on its way… Princess Mathilde has promised to visit us at Le Puys; please do the same.” – July 28. “Every passing ship gives us hope that you are among the passengers… Must you remain in this state of mourning and despair any longer?” – February 26 [1881]. I saw Princess Mathilde yesterday. We spoke at length about you. I told her that you had been tactful enough not to mention the Princess of Baghdad’s whistle to us…” – [January 1881]. She waited to write to him until she had “positive news about the tapestry.” – n.d. “Mr. Dumas is so deeply immersed in his work that it is I who
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Alexandre DUMAS, Jr., and his family. Correspondence with Count Joseph PRIMOLI. 1872–1881 and undated.
Through his mother—as a result of intermarriage—Joseph Primoli was descended from Joseph and Lucien Bonaparte, brothers of the Emperor. He had completed all his education in France, where his family had settled in 1853 and remained until 1870. Dumas the Younger treated him with paternal affection, and Primoli maintained close ties with the entire family throughout his life.
- Alexandre DUMAS, Jr. Photographic portrait. Cabinet-size print bearing the following inscription: “To Joseph Primoli, his friend, A. Dumas, Jr.”
- Joseph PRIMOLI. 4 autograph letters signed to Alexandre Dumas, Jr. 29 pp. in-8.
December 20, 1872 – After an evening spent with Dumas. “You must have thought me quite a fool for failing to find the words to express to you all the respect, affection, and gratitude my heart held.” Back in Rome, he is overcome by “the indescribable sadness of being far from dear Paris, which one admires despite its ruins just as one loves it despite its faults… To remain connected to France by a living thread, I’d had the idea of joining a French newspaper… to stir up within myself that spirit of emulation without which one ends up doing nothing—and which I miss completely here in Rome… Just as in Paris one goes to the Italian opera, in Rome one goes to the Comédie Française. We currently have a charming actress, Mme. Esquier Samary—niece of the Brohans—who has performed in *The Lady of the Camellias*, *The Friend of Women* (first version), and *Princess Georges*. Needless to say, these plays were a great success…”—January 11, 1874. He sent her some treats. “I remember that Mlle. Colette especially likes garlic sausage, but I didn’t dare send her any this time, for fear of making her suitcase stink… You really must come; we’re waiting for you.” He’d like to break free from his idleness. “In Paris, at least, one goes with the flow; elsewhere, there’s only the whirlpool that engulfs you.” – undated. His father will be in Paris for the entire month of September. “I recommend him to you because he is used to living among us, and I fear he will soon feel isolated. Send him some theater tickets, if you have any on hand; that is the nicest thing you can do for him.” – November 17, 1874. “Why do I send you my letters so rarely? It’s because I write to you too often… my letter becomes endlessly long… I find it simpler to tear it up.” “God has given me neither the ambition to succeed nor the energy to persevere; so I very much fear I will never be the ‘arm of steel’ whose role you have outlined for me.” A lengthy discussion on what makes a good diplomat—whose ideal is, after all, not that of a scoundrel? “Above all, you advise me not to fall in love… Despite all my desire, I cannot fall in love. I do not know if it is because, living continually with you through thought and reading, I am too deeply imbued with your doctrines and have allowed reason to overwhelm my heart…. Sometimes, I ask myself quietly… Could it be that I have no heart? But I feel it—it comes, throbbing, to prove me wrong; it beats when I embrace my mother, when I find myself near a pretty woman, or when I receive a letter from you…”
- Alexandre DUMAS, Jr. 4 telegrams and a note (3 lines) signed to Count Primoli.
- Joseph PRIMOLI to Émile de la Charlotterie (godson of Dumas, Jr.). 2 pp. in-8, 4 pp. in-12.
- Undated. On a controversy he cannot explain. “Alexandre Dumas was the best of men, as he was the wittiest, and all who knew him well were deeply attached to him.”
- Nadine DUMAS. 11 signed autograph letters and a calling card to Count Primoli. 1880–1881 and undated.
- [1880], 36 pp., 8vo. “You are such a dear friend to us that I don’t want to let anyone else have the pleasure of telling you about Colette’s wedding… Colette says that if you don’t come, she’ll go all the way to Rome to introduce her husband to you.” – May 24 [1880]. “The tapestry is on its way… Princess Mathilde has promised to visit us at Le Puys; please do the same.” – July 28. “Every passing ship gives us hope that you are among the passengers… Must you remain in this state of mourning and despair any longer?” – February 26 [1881]. I saw Princess Mathilde yesterday. We spoke at length about you. I told her that you had been tactful enough not to mention the Princess of Baghdad’s whistle to us…” – [January 1881]. She waited to write to him until she had “positive news about the tapestry.” – n.d. “Mr. Dumas is so deeply immersed in his work that it is I who
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
