BERGERAT (Émile), French poet and playwright, who used several pseudonyms,...

BERGERAT (Émile), French poet and playwright, who used several pseudonyms, including “L’Homme Masqué” and “Caliban” (1845–1923) An important collection of 35 autograph, signed letters addressed to various recipients, including 24 to the Parnassian poet and French painter Léon Dierx, and to the publishers Michaud and Henri Launette. A few envelopes are preserved. A delightful collection of letters to the man he calls “Coco, Old Man, Old Beast, Old Man, Green Phidias, my zebra, or Parxitèle,” a text of exuberant whimsy whose content—both friendly and professional—refers to Courteline, Xavier Roux, Théodore de Banville, the actor Antoine, Laurent Taillade, Maurice Maeterlinck, and others…