Five autograph letters signed from Marcel Proust to André Bénac, dated March-April 1915

Identifiers

CMV:

CMV32809

Repository:

Shelfmark:

AuctionFR- Marcel Proust, ‘5 L.A.S. to André Bénac’

Title:

Five autograph letters signed from Marcel Proust to André Bénac, dated March-April 1915

Collection(s):

No related collections found.

Related record(s):

No related manuscripts found.

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OCLC Number:

Reproductions:

Content

People:

Incipit Diplomatic:

Cher Monsieur et ami, J’ai été bien ému en voyant votre écriture, je pense tant, si incessamment à vous et à Madame Bénac depuis le jour affreux.

Incipit Modernised:

Language(s):

In Voltaire’s Hand:

Brief Summary:

Five autograph letters signed from Marcel Proust to André Bénac concerning the publication of the letters of Bénac’s son, André, who was killed during the First World War.

Detailed Summary:

In the first of these letters, Proust speaks of being moved by the letters and that he would like to read more of André Benac’s letters to console him as he would have liked to have met him. Proust tells Bénac that he should not speak of revenge but should instead repeat four lines from Act 5, Scene 7 of Voltaire’s Alzire reading: ‘Des Dieux que nous servons connais la différence / La tien t’a commandé le meurtre et la vengeance / Et le mien quand ton bras vient de m’assassiner / M’ordonne de te plaindre et de te pardonner.’ In the second letter, Proust says that he will be a bad editor because he cried so much reading the letters that his eyes are not clear for typography, adding that he no longer cries just for Bénac and his wife, but also for an unknown friend whom he would have liked to get to know. He greatly praises André’s ability to evoke the senses in the third and fourth letters and speaks again of his immense sorrow at not having had the chance to meet André. In the final letter, Proust notes that he regrets disagreeing with Bénac two months earlier. He writes that after the war, there will be a whole genre of war literature where André risks being drowned, adding that his literary works were not sufficiently original to reveal his personality due to his young age.

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Physical Description

Material(s):

Extent:

3 ff.

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Hands:

1

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Binding:

Additional Comments:

There is a small tear at the bottom of the central fold line of letter one. The letters feature additional horizontal and vertical fold lines.

Materiality Keywords:

Decorations:

Undecorated

Additions:

Words and phrases have been occassionally underlined throughout the letters.

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History

Date:

Ownership:

Origin (transcript):

Origin:

Provenance:

Sold at auction at Giraud-Badin Bookstore, 22 rue Guynemer, 75006 Paris on 15th December 2022. Estimated price: €10,000-12,000.

Bibliography

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OCV Reference:

OCV Manuscript Reference:

Record created by:

Zoe Screti

Record created on:

30 May 2024