Literature in French

Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
​See also : Literature
​Chronology : 1460-1479

Saint Graal

Illuminated manuscripts are among the most beautiful objects made in the Middle Ages. They are most often dealing with Christian themes. When a beautiful ancient manuscript on a secular theme comes up for sale, it is an event.

But the Saint Graal (Holy Grail) is still better than any other secular theme. This search for truth brings into action the kings, the knights, with the morals of that time that included the courtly love. The strength of this first real novel in Western literature is precisely the fact that without contradicting the Bible it does not imitate it in any way.

Holy Grail tales overview: The Holy Grail legend originated in medieval European (primarily French) literature as part of the broader Arthurian cycle, blending chivalric romance, Christian mysticism, and Celtic/other folklore elements.
​It first prominently appeared in Chrétien de Troyes’ unfinished late-12th-century poem Perceval, the Story of the Grail (Le Conte du Graal), where the Grail is a mysterious serving dish (not yet explicitly the Christian relic) carried in a procession at the Fisher King’s castle. Subsequent works Christianized it heavily: Robert de Boron’s early-13th-century poems (Joseph d’Arimathie and Merlin) linked it to the cup of the Last Supper and Joseph of Arimathea catching Christ’s blood.
The most comprehensive and influential version is the early-13th-century anonymous Lancelot-Grail Cycle (also called the Vulgate Cycle or Pseudo-Map Cycle), a massive Old French prose compilation (c. 1215–1230s) that integrates Grail lore with the full Arthurian saga, including Merlin, Lancelot, the Round Table, and the fall of Camelot. It comprises five main branches: Estoire del Saint Graal (Grail history from Joseph of Arimathea), Merlin (and its Suite), Lancelot (proper), Queste del Saint Graal (the quest, achieved by Galahad), and Mort Artu (Arthur’s death).
This cycle profoundly shaped later works, including Thomas Malory’s 15th-century Le Morte d’Arthur. About 200 manuscripts (mostly fragments; only ~7 complete) survive, mostly from northeastern France/Belgium/Flanders, with production peaking in the 13th–15th centuries.

1290-1310 the Clermont-Tonnerre Grail
2026 SOLD for £ 2.25M by Christie's

The Christie's manuscript (Clermont-Tonnerre Grail): This is the standout item in Christie's Valuable Books and Manuscripts sale (London, July 8, 2026, lot 22), estimated at £1.5–2 million ($2–2.7 million), sold for £ 2.25M. It has remained in private hands for ~700 years, never publicly exhibited or deeply studied until now, making it a "virtually unknown" rediscovery.
Key auction attributes and features:
  • Date and location: Written and illuminated c. 1290–1310 (late 13th/early 14th century), likely in Metz (northeastern France). It is one of the earliest surviving witnesses of the Lancelot-Grail/Vulgate Cycle texts.
  • Language and content (French title/context): Old French prose from the Lancelot-Grail cycle, specifically the first three branches: the Estoire del Saint Graal (Grail origins), Merlin (Merlin’s diabolic birth and shape-shifting adventures), and early Arthurian tales (King Arthur, knights, battles against Saxons, etc.). It is sometimes associated with the binding title Roman de Artus. Its text is described as unique.
  • Physical form and condition: Written on vellum (high-quality parchment). Rebound in the 17th century in green velvet with gilt lettering and ornate metal cornerpieces (replacing the original binding). It is in excellent condition for its age, with rich preservation of text and illuminations.
  • Illuminations: 126 small, richly detailed miniature illustrations with burnished gold leaf (polished aggressively for shine), colors, and narrative depth. They depict Merlin shape-shifting (e.g., into a stag), Arthurian quests, battles, knights of the Round Table, and Grail-related scenes. Attributed to the anonymous "Master of the Liège Apocalypse" (named after another manuscript), known for distinctive styles: black-pupiled eyes, orange-dotted cheeks, square jaws, exaggerated "nutcracker" chins/foreheads, and Grecian noses. These are among the richest examples of his work and more profuse than in many contemporaries.
  • Supposed creators: Anonymous scribe(s) and illuminator (Master of the Liège Apocalypse). No named primary writer, consistent with the cycle’s anonymous compilation nature.
Provenance: Detailed and impressive lineage, including a 15th-century knight/jouster, an obsessive medievalist, and 20th-century industrialist Jean Lebaudy. It takes its name from 17th-century owner Charles-Henri de Clermont-Tonnerre. Currently from a long-standing private collection.
Comparison with earlier/other Holy Grail manuscripts: The Vulgate Cycle’s earliest copies date to c. 1220–1230; this one (c. 1290–1310) is an early but not the absolute earliest witness. It stands out as the earliest and most profusely illustrated Lancelot-Grail manuscript ever to appear at auction, and one of only three in private hands (vs. ~200 in institutions, few complete). It has more illustrations than many peers and a unique text variant. A comparable example, the Rochefoucauld Grail, sold for £2.3 million at Sotheby’s in 2010. Earlier Grail texts (e.g., Chrétien or Robert de Boron) are shorter/poetic and less integrated; this embodies the full prose cycle’s expansive, Christian-chivalric synthesis.
​Why a highly important rediscovery: It is a pristine, early, lavishly illuminated private copy of foundational Western cultural texts that blend Christian symbolism (Grail as sacred relic), chivalry, magic, and adventure—elements that influenced centuries of literature, art, and popular culture (books, films, etc.). Its rarity in private hands, lack of prior scholarly exposure, artistic quality, and direct tie to Merlin/Arthur/Grail legends position it as a major opportunity for institutions or collectors. As Christie’s specialist Eugenio Donadoni noted, it offers historical, art-historical, textual, and cultural appeal, with Merlin’s own prophecy in the text: “And the story will forever be told and gladly heard for as long as the world lasts.”This manuscript vividly embodies the medieval Grail tradition’s enduring power. For the full catalogue, check Christie's site.
Metz illumination techniques refer to the distinctive practices of manuscript production and decoration in Metz (Lorraine, northeastern France), a major center of book arts from the late 13th to mid-14th century. This region, influenced by Mosan (Meuse valley), French Gothic, and some English/Imperial traditions, produced high-quality religious and secular works, including Apocalypses, Books of Hours, and Arthurian romances like the Clermont-Tonnerre Grail.
Materials and Preparation
  • Support: High-quality vellum (calfskin parchment), prepared by stretching, scraping, and smoothing animal hides. Metz manuscripts often feature fine, thin, well-preserved leaves with wide margins.
  • Text: Written in Gothic textualis or littera textualis script by professional scribes (often lay workshops by this period). Ink was typically iron-gall or carbon-based.
  • Pigments: Vibrant, mineral- and vegetable-based colors mixed with binders like egg white (glair), gum arabic, or honey. Common palette included:
    • Blues (azurite, sometimes ultramarine for luxury).
    • Reds (vermilion, kermes lake).
    • Greens, yellows, and earth tones.
    • White (lead white) and blacks.
Gilding and Burnishing (Key to the "Illuminated" Effect)
Gold was central, symbolizing divine light. Techniques in Metz followed broader Gothic practices but emphasized aggressive burnishing for a jewel-like shine:
  1. Ground preparation: Artists applied a raised base of gesso (mixture of chalk, white lead, and animal glue) or bole (red clay) to areas for gold.
  2. Application: Gold leaf (beaten thin sheets) was laid onto a sticky mordant (gum ammoniac or glair) and allowed to adhere.
  3. Burnishing: Polished vigorously with a hard, smooth tool (agate, hematite, or tooth) to create a mirror-like, reflective surface. This "aggressive" polishing, noted in the Clermont-Tonnerre Grail, produced brilliant highlights that catch light dramatically.
Gold appeared in backgrounds, halos, clothing details, initials, and borders. Shell gold (powdered gold in a binder) was used for smaller accents or painting.
Illumination Style and Execution (Master of the Liège Apocalypse)
The Master of the Liège Apocalypse and his Metz workshop exemplified the style around 1290–1310:
  • Drawing: Preliminary underdrawings in leadpoint, silverpoint, or ink. Compositions were narrative-driven, often packing multiple scenes or dynamic figures into small frames.
  • Painting: Tempera-like application (pigments in glair or similar). Figures are stocky and expressive with bold outlines. Characteristic facial modeling: square jaws, prominent "nutcracker" chins/foreheads, Grecian noses, large black-pupiled eyes, and orange/red dotted cheeks for a flushed, lively look.
  • Composition: Small-to-medium miniatures with burnished gold grounds, vibrant saturated colors, and architectural or landscape elements. Borders and historiated initials integrate with scenes. Dynamic action suits both apocalyptic visions and chivalric tales (e.g., Merlin transformations, battles).
Workshop Context and Regional Influences
By the late 13th century, production shifted from monastic scriptoria to urban lay workshops in Metz, coordinated by libraires (booksellers). Artists like the Master of the Liège Apocalypse and collaborators (e.g., Nicholaus) handled luxury commissions for aristocratic patrons.
​Influences: Mosan traditions (expressive figures, gold), Parisian Gothic elegance, and border-region exchanges. Metz excelled in Books of Hours and vernacular texts, with personal devotion and narrative storytelling emphasized.Techniques prioritized durability and luminosity—parchment's resilience, stable pigments, and reflective gold ensured manuscripts like the Clermont-Tonnerre Grail remain vivid after 700+ years. This blend of technical mastery and artistic expressiveness made Metz illuminations prized for both sacred and secular legends, embodying the era's chivalric-Christian synthesis.

The Master of the Liège Apocalypse (also known as Maître de l'Apocalypse de Liège) was an anonymous but highly distinctive illuminator active in Metz (Lorraine, northeastern France) around 1290–1310. He led a productive workshop and is named after his most famous work: the Apocalypse de Liège (Liège, Université de Liège, MS Wittert 5), a French-language illuminated Apocalypse manuscript.
This artist is best known today through his attribution to the Clermont-Tonnerre Grail (the Arthurian manuscript at Christie's), where his 126 miniatures represent some of the richest surviving examples of his output.
Core Stylistic Characteristics
Christie's and specialists describe his style with these recurring, immediately recognizable traits:
  • Facial features: Strongly square-jawed male faces with exaggerated "nutcracker" chins and foreheads that flow in an almost straight line into a prominent Grecian nose with an overlong tip. Women and younger figures often have softer but still defined profiles.
  • Eyes and cheeks: Large, deftly drawn eyes with sharply contrasted black pupils that give figures an animated, lively expression. Neat orange (or red) dots placed carefully on the cheeks for a flushed, healthy glow.
  • Figures: Stocky, expressive figures with clear outlines and dynamic gestures. They convey narrative energy through posture and interaction rather than subtle modeling.
  • Color and gold: Vibrant palette with rich, saturated colors. Extensive use of burnished gold leaf (polished aggressively for a brilliant shine) for backgrounds, halos, clothing details, and architectural elements. This creates a luminous, jewel-like effect.
  • Composition: Small-to-medium miniatures packed with narrative detail—multiple scenes or figures within one frame, lively action (battles, transformations, quests), and clear storytelling. Borders and initials often integrate with the main scenes.
These traits make his hand easy to spot across manuscripts, even when he collaborated with others.
Key Works and Context
  • Primary naming work: Apocalypse de Liège — a French translation of the Book of Revelation with additional texts (Lord’s Prayer, Creed). Produced in Metz with a Mosan-influenced Gothic style. It features numerous miniatures showcasing his characteristic figures in apocalyptic visions.
  • Clermont-Tonnerre Grail (c. 1290–1310, Metz): 126 miniatures across the Estoire del Saint Graal, Merlin, and early Arthurian sections. Includes standout scenes like Merlin shape-shifting into a talking stag. This is considered one of his most profuse and high-quality projects.
  • He collaborated with other Metz illuminators (e.g., a certain Nicholaus) on luxury commissions, including other religious and possibly secular texts. His workshop was important in the Lorraine region, blending French Gothic, Mosan, and some English influences common in border-area illumination of the period.
Artistic Context and Significance
The Master worked in the early Gothic "courtly" tradition but with a robust, narrative-driven approach suited to both biblical drama (Apocalypse) and chivalric romance (Arthurian tales). His style bridges late-13th-century developments: more expressive and animated than earlier Romanesque rigidity, yet before the softer, more International Gothic elegance of the mid-14th century.
The burnished gold and detailed storytelling made his manuscripts luxury objects for aristocratic patrons. Attribution to the Clermont-Tonnerre Grail elevates it as a key rediscovery, linking sacred apocalyptic imagery with secular Grail/Merlin lore in one cohesive artistic voice.
​His recognizable "signature" features (especially the faces and orange cheeks) allow scholars to track his influence and workshop output even in unsigned pieces, highlighting the vibrant manuscript culture of Metz around 1300. This style brings medieval legends to life with vivid color, gold, and expressive humanity—perfectly embodying the blend of Christian mysticism and chivalric adventure in the Holy Grail tales.

​1315-1323 the Rochefoucauld Grail
2010 SOLD for £ 2.4M by Sotheby's

A manuscript in French has been copied and illuminated in Flanders or Artois between 1315 and 1323. This specimen is known as the Rochefoucauld Grail assuming that it was done at the request of the head of this very ancient aristocratic family.

Well studied by medievalists, this beautiful book is illustrated with more than 100 miniatures and nearly 100 large initials. It is in large format, 405 x 295 mm. Somebody calculated that it took 200 cows to supply its 450 vellum leaves.

Bound in three volumes, it was sold for £ 2.4M from a lower estimate of £ 1.5M by Sotheby's on December 7, 2010.

The Rochefoucauld Grail is one of the most celebrated surviving illuminated manuscripts of the Lancelot-Grail Cycle (Vulgate Cycle), the foundational early-13th-century Old French prose compilation of Arthurian and Holy Grail legends.
It was produced in eastern Artois or western Flanders (most probably Saint-Omer, Tournai, or Ghent) around c. 1315–1323 (or up to c. 1325). A team of scribes and artists created it, possibly at the request of Guy VII, Baron de La Rochefoucauld (d. 1356), a French nobleman and representative of King Philip V in Flanders. The family arms were later added.
This four-volume set (originally bound as such) contains the Lancelot-Grail Cycle in Old French prose: the Estoire del Saint Graal (Grail origins from Joseph of Arimathea), Estoire de Merlin (Merlin’s story and Arthur’s rise), extensive Lancelot propre (adventures of Lancelot, Guinevere, Round Table knights, chivalry, courtly love, and battles), with the fourth volume covering the Queste del Saint Graal and Mort Artu. It vividly blends Christian mysticism, chivalric romance, warfare, and moral tales without directly imitating the Bible.
Key physical and artistic features:
  • Format and materials: Monumental large format, approximately 405 × 295 mm per leaf, written in two columns. The three auctioned volumes together comprised hundreds of vellum leaves (one contemporary calculation for the full set suggested the equivalent of ~200 cows for parchment). It features 107 small-to-medium miniatures with burnished gold backgrounds, rich colors, and narrative detail depicting battles (e.g., King Arthur fighting Saxons), knightly combats, quests, courtly scenes, and Grail-related elements. There are also nearly 100 large historiated or decorated initials (4–10 lines high) in burnished gold on colored grounds with penwork flourishes.
  • Illumination style: Early Gothic, produced by the same workshop as other deluxe copies (e.g., British Library Add. MSS 10292–4 and Royal MS 14 E.III). The miniatures are "dazzling jewels" with dynamic action, gold leaf, and intricate borders (some with drolleries like animals or hybrids).
Condition and binding: The three volumes sold in 2010 were in excellent condition with wide margins, though with some typical minor issues (e.g., oxidized silver, minor cockling, repairs). They were rebound in 18th-century Dutch or Flemish red morocco. The fourth volume is split between the Bodleian Library (Douce MS 215) and John Rylands Library (MS Fr. 1).
Provenance: Likely with the Rochefoucauld family for centuries before dispersing in the 18th century. It passed through notable collectors like Sir Thomas Phillipps in the 19th century and remained in private hands. The three volumes were sold by Sotheby’s London on December 7/10, 2010, for £2,393,250 (including premium) against an estimate of £1.5–2 million.
Key Comparisons with the Clermont-Tonnerre Grail
​Both are among the rare Lancelot-Grail/Vulgate Cycle manuscripts in private hands (only three known at the time of the 2026 auction), representing the expansive prose synthesis of Arthurian legend that influenced Malory and modern culture. They are high-end aristocratic commissions with lavish illuminations.
  • Date and earliness: Clermont-Tonnerre is earlier (c. 1290–1310, Metz region) and one of the earliest surviving witnesses. Rochefoucauld is slightly later (c. 1315–1323), from the next generation of production in the Franco-Flemish border area.
  • Scale and format: Rochefoucauld is larger and more monumental (405 × 295 mm, multi-volume with hundreds of leaves); Clermont-Tonnerre is smaller but still impressive on vellum. Rochefoucauld required vastly more parchment.
  • Illuminations: Rochefoucauld has 107 miniatures plus ~84–100 large initials, emphasizing dynamic warfare and chivalry. Clermont-Tonnerre has 126 miniatures by the distinctive "Master of the Liège Apocalypse" (characteristic square jaws, orange-dotted cheeks, etc.), noted for richness and narrative depth with burnished gold. Both use gold prominently, but styles differ by region/workshop.
  • Content: Both cover core branches (Estoire del Saint Graal, Merlin, Lancelot material). Clermont-Tonnerre focuses on the first three branches with unique textual variants. Rochefoucauld (as part of a four-volume set) spans more comprehensively, including later Queste/Mort Artu in the dispersed volume.
  • Rarity and rediscovery: Both are "rediscoveries" in private hands with limited prior exposure. Rochefoucauld was well-studied by medievalists before its 2010 sale. Clermont-Tonnerre had remained virtually unknown and unexhibited for ~700 years until the 2026 auction, enhancing its "rediscovery" status. Clermont-Tonnerre’s estimate (£1.5–2M) mirrors Rochefoucauld’s.
  • Cultural impact: Rochefoucauld exemplifies the "first real novel" blend of secular chivalry/courtly love with Grail mysticism. Clermont-Tonnerre similarly highlights Merlin’s prophecies and Arthurian quests but stands out for its earlier date and specific illuminator attribution.
Your 2010 narration captures the essence perfectly—the event of a secular-yet-mystical masterpiece, the aristocratic patronage, the cow-hide vellum scale, and the auction excitement. The Rochefoucauld remains a benchmark for such sales; the Clermont-Tonnerre, being earlier and from a different workshop with more miniatures in one cohesive private copy, offers a complementary counterpart for collectors or institutions. Both underscore the enduring allure of the Grail quest in medieval art and literature.

​1464 Gillion de Trazegnies
2012 SOLD for £ 3.85M by Sotheby's

The courtly romance was very popular in the early Middle Ages. The heroic deeds attributed to the knights during the Crusades become legends in which fantastic scenes mingle with realistic episodes. The good knight lived the most fabulous adventures for the honor of his wife.

At the end of the Hundred Years' War, the Duke of Burgundy Philip the Good maintains a prestigious court and is a patron of arts and literature. The prose novel Gillion de Trazegnies, composed at that time by an anonymous writer, is an amazing example of the revival of the courtly romance, with all the features of this literary genre.

The Trazegnies family actually existed in Hainaut, and the legend of the bigamist knight was told a long time before the writing of the novel. The reader is made weeping with this story of a pilgrim to the Holy Land who becomes a prisoner, believes that his wife is dead, becomes unintentionally a bigamist and is released of this accidental sin by his chevaleresque attitude.

This novel was published in 2011 by the medievalist Stéphanie Vincent, who had access to the five copies in illuminated manuscripts of the original edition, made in Antwerp or Bruges for the Duke and his entourage.

Louis de Gruuthuse, stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland, was one of the five privileged who received such a copy, illuminated in 1464 with 8 large and 44 small images. Then it belonged to Francis I king of France and to the Dukes of Devonshire. It was sold for £ 3.85M by Sotheby's on December 5, 2012.

​Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's introducing both this romance and a Mystère de la Vengeance.

​1697 Contes by Perrault
2013 SOLD for € 960K by Binoche et Giquello

Member of the Académie Française since 1671, Charles Perrault triggered in 1687 within this reputable company the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns, which he animated with zeal until 1694. Horrifying the 'Anciens', this clever literary reformer promoted to abandon the imitation of antique writers and thinkers.

He found a different inspiration and a great demonstrator of his theories by listening to folk tales which he adapted for introducing his moralités (according to the wording of the time). His fairies and princesses in prose could succeed the anthropomorphic animals from the verse Fables of La Fontaine.

In 1697, Perrault and his son ordered the editing as a small in-12 book of a collection of eight stories, seven of which in first editions, under the title Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passé.

Only four copies of the first issue are known. Presumably the author had some doubts about the potential success of this work. If it is the case, he was wrong. The second edition is made in the same year by the same printer, the first fakes are almost immediate, and these tales still inspire today's cinema and children's books.

One of these rare copies of the first print was sold for € 960K from a lower estimate of € 400K  on December 9, 2013 by Binoche et Giquello in collaboration with Wemaëre-de Beaupuis-Denesle . It is in very good condition. The photo below is shared post sale by Interencheres on Ow.ly.
Owly Image

masterpiece
1785 Les 120 Journées de Sodome by Sade
Etat Français

When he was a young aristocrat the marquis de Sade believed that anything could be allowed to him within the false stage of his own life. He had no consideration excepted for himself. Increasingly serious sex scandals are emerging in his wake. He is jailed by lettre de cachet in 1777 at the request of his family anxious to protect him from his own "sadistic" perversions.

Transferred in 1784 to the Bastille after a reassignment of the dungeon of Vincennes, Sade is then nobody more than Monsieur le 6 according to the number of his cell. His energy and his hate have not weakened and a liberation is unthinkable. He will never retrieve the freedom of Gilles de Rais or Elisabeth Bathory. He becomes a writer. He wants to be the most impure of all writers.

His first project of book is a catalog of perversions for which he is inspired by the narrative structure of the Decameron. In an abject absence of humanism, girls and boys are toys of torture and death for the sexual pleasure of the masters. The title, Les 120 Journées de Sodome, is an allusion to the 1,001 Arabian Nights.

In October 1785 the draft of the first part is finished. Despite his isolation, Sade fears a confiscation. He copies his text into a tiny and tight writing on 11.3 cm narrow sheets. The set to be kept in a tube is an assembly of 33 sheets glued end to end for a total length of 12.10 m. The top sheets of the roll are inscribed on both sides.

Sade had worked for no result. A few days before the Bastille day of July 14, 1789 he manages through the bars of his cell to add his vociferation within the growing popular discontent. His presence at the Bastille is considered as a threat to security and he is transferred to the hospice of Charenton without being allowed to take anything with him. He will never see again this manuscript of his most atrocious frenzies.

Long considered as lost, the manuscript is the subject of a first edition by a German psychiatrist in 1904. Recovered by a descendant of Sade, it is stolen in 1982 and acquired by a collector of erotic literature, legally under Swiss law and illegally according to French law. Its purchase by the Aristophil company with significant monetary compensation to all involved parties was acclaimed by the press in 2014.

This scroll unique in its theme, format, author and history was a major piece in the liquidation of Aristophil, listed with an estimate of € 4M by Aguttes on December 20, 2017, lot 39. Please watch the video shared by Aguttes. The image below is shared by Wikimedia. It was classified as Trésor national and withdrawn before the sale. It was acquired by the Etat Français in 2021.
120journees

​1841 Ursule Mirouët by Balzac
2017 SOLD for € 1.17M by OVA

Balzac aimed to build through his novels a fictional society to express all types of aristocratic and bourgeois behaviors of his time, most often by exacerbating their greed. He is passionate about this work for which he devotes eighteen hours a day in reading, documenting, planning, writing and correcting. He wants the realism of the details to be indisputable.

A great admirer of himself, he foresees for his work the notoriety of Napoléon and puts his social classification on the rank of the scientific works by Buffon and Cuvier. According to the mood of his time he is very keen of physiognomy.

He was born in Tours : for provincial life, his experience is direct. He has met during his childhood these bourgeois, these doctors and these priests who do not understand the unpleasant character of their own pettiness. Balzac does not exclude anything from the mental environment of his bourgeois who are, depending on the individuals, either attracted, repulsed or little concerned in religion or occultism.

Ursule Mirouët, written in 1841, is the story of an innocent girl whom everyone in her surrounding manages to disinherit. Balzac is particularly satisfied with this novel which will soon become the first opus of the Scènes de la Vie de Province in the complete edition of La Comédie Humaine by Furne.

Ursule Mirouët's first-run manuscript was sold for € 1.17M from a lower estimate of € 800K in December 20, 2017 in the inaugural auction of the Aristophil collections operated by Aguttes and OVA, lot 45. Please watch the video shared by Aguttes.

According to Balzac's usual practice, this manuscript has many differences with the final published text. Indeed he preferred to write in speed and to rely upon the printing proofs for reviewing the consistency and bringing innumerable corrections.

Ursule Mirouët is one of only two first-run manuscripts from La Comédie Humaine in private hands. The other example, Massimilla Doni, on music, is a little away from the main social stream of Balzac.

​1897 Coup de Dés by Mallarmé
2015 SOLD for € 960K by Sotheby's

In 1897, two revolutionaries of the artistic language manage together an unusual editorial project.

Stéphane Mallarmé is 55 years old. An admirer of Poe and translator of The Raven, he removes any narrative from poetry for developing free lines, sonority and also repetitive emotions brought by the juxtaposition of words. He reportedly told Valéry: "Do not you think that this is an act of insanity?".

Mallarmé is close to artists and had composed texts for musicians. With "Jamais un coup de dés n'abolira le hasard", he properly becomes an artist by designing the arrangement of the words within the pages. This poem is the forerunner of a great tradition by which French speaking poetry became inseparable from art, through Apollinaire and Cendrars.

Ambroise Vollard is 31 years old. His gallery in Paris is already well established and he is determined to shake up the art world by unprecedented initiatives. He meets Mallarmé.

Mallarmé authorizes a first edition of the Coup de dés without the participation of Vollard. The format of the magazine does not please him. Vollard proposes to do better. He imagines that the poem can be illustrated by Redon and chooses as printer the Firmin-Didot company.

Mallarmé is a perfectionist who requests that his typographic instructions are executed in the smallest details. Firmin-Didot prepares five successive states. The last proof is done in November 1897 but unfortunately Redon has not yet provided his illustrations.

On October 15, 2015, Sotheby's devoted a sale to the library of Mallarmé.

Lot 160, sold for € 62K, is the autograph of a preliminary draft for the Coup de dés.

Lot 163, sold for € 960K from a lower estimate of € 500K, is the autograph model prepared by Mallarmé including many instructions for the typography.

Lot 164, sold for € 123K, gathers six prints spanning the last four states of the Firmin-Didot proofs. One of the two sets from the last state is again corrected by the hand of Mallarmé for further improvements.

The project is abandoned by Vollard after the sudden death of the poet in September 1898.

​1913 Du Côté de chez Swann by Proust
2018 SOLD for € 1.5M by Pierre Bergé et Associés

A wealthy and sickly esthete attends the worldly salons. His ambition is to become a great writer. His sensuality provides him with a vision of life as a river that flows inexorably but is marked by memories of strong impressions even if sometimes their cause is derisory.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, that literary project by Marcel Proust opens the way to the psychological novel, closer to a long prose poem than to a true novel. In his research of every empathy, he did not reject homosexual emotion in his writings and in his own life.

His cycle of novels got a title that highlighted his literary purpose : A la recherche du temps perdu. In 1907 his plan was ready, but the writing phase will be long. 

The first opus, Du Côté de chez Swann, was submitted to editors in 1913. Discouraged at first reading by obscure metaphors, André Gide refused to have it published by the prestigious NRF. Bernard Grasset agreed to edit it by author's expense. Gide soon recognized that his decision had been a major blunder.

At the end of the first print and according to the literary tradition, a few copies were printed on luxury paper for being presented to personalities selected by the author : five numbered 1 to 5 on Japon followed by twelve on Hollande.

The deluxe copy number 1 of Du côté de chez Swann was dedicated to Lucien, a son of Alphonse Daudet. Proust had enjoyed in the mid-1890s the fragility of this effeminate teenager. Their romantic affair revealed against their will by the scandal chronicler Jean Lorrain was followed by an efficient literary cooperation.

The author had included in that copy a dedication page in a typically Proustian emphatic style which had been later kept by Daudet when he sold the book.

The book was sold by Sotheby's for € 600K on December 18, 2013, lot 607. Pierre Bergé purchased the book and then managed to acquire privately its warm autograph dedication from Marcel Proust to Lucien Daudet.

Coming from the Bergé collection, the book with the dedication sheet fitted at its original position was sold for € 1.5M from a lower estimate of € 600K on December 14, 2018 by Pierre Bergé et Associés in association with Sotheby's, lot 927.

1924 BRETON

Automatic writing becomes a literary genre in 1919 with Breton, Soupault and their friends. It is a matter of recording in high speed  the words released by the subconscious. A half-sleep or a hypnotic condition favors the process by erasing logics, will and purpose.

These young experimenters create the magazine Littérature and highlight their precursors : Dostoevski, Lautréamont. Their common point is the rejection of classical literature and especially of the novel. For the rest, despite Breton's ambition, the group's cohesion is an illusion. Have they ever questioned why readers outside their small circle could be interested in the irrational text from their subconscious ?

They had been close to Dada that vanished for the same reason. They do not have the monopoly of publishing : when Joyce's Ulysses is released in Paris in 1922, this use of the stream of consciousness in the production of a novel baffles Breton. To avoid being for or against, he does not read it.

In the spring of 1924 Breton is seized with a frenzy of automatic writing. He prepares about a hundred "historiettes" on school notebooks and plans to put together a selection in a book titled Poisson Soluble. At that point Breton finally considers that a theoretical introduction will restrain the hostile comments of the critics. During the summer he prepares a Préface for Poisson Soluble under the aggressive title Manifeste du Surréalisme. He finishes in September the copying of the 31 stories of the Poisson Soluble.

The desire for a cohesion remains ineffective. The Manifeste is a theoretical text but the subconscious had contributed and Breton does not want to rework it. In 1929 he prepares the Second Manifeste du Surréalisme.

The most important autograph manuscripts on Poisson Soluble and the Manifeste of 1924 had been preserved by Simone Collinet, the first wife of Breton, and were sold in nine lots by Sotheby's on May 21, 2008.

Acquired by Aristophil, they were listed in three lots by Aguttes on December 20, 2017. Purchased by Aristophil from another source, the autograph manuscript of the Second Manifeste is listed in the same auction. The set was classified as Trésor national and withdrawn before the sale.

The Manifeste of 1924, sold for € 1.9M in 2008, had been estimated € 600K, lot 53. The final manuscript of Poisson Soluble, sold for € 900K in 2008, had been estimated € 900K, lot 54. The seven automatic notebooks from the Collinet collection, which do not constitute a complete set, were sold individually in 2008 for a total of € 820K. Grouped in lot 55, they had been estimated € 2M. The Second Manifeste accompanied by printing proofs corrected by the author had been estimated € 1M, lot 56.

​​Please watch the video shared by Aguttes.

1
Manifeste du Surréalisme
2008 SOLD for € 1.9M by Sotheby's

Manifeste du Surréalisme, 1924 autograph manuscript by Breton, was sold for € 1.9M by Sotheby's on May 21, 2008.

2
Poisson Soluble
​2008 SOLD for € 900K by Sotheby's

Poisson Soluble, 1924 autograph manuscript by Breton, was sold for € 900K by Sotheby's on May 21, 2008.

​1935 Facile by Eluard
2017 SOLD for € 820K by Christie's

Poets and artists need a muse. Nusch is an acrobat at the Grand-Guignol when she meets by chance René Char and Paul Eluard in 1930. She is 24 years old. Paul and Nusch do not leave each other. They marry in 1934.

For the poet Nusch is the ideal woman whose body is confused with the forces of nature. She is the "tranquille sève nue" !quiet naked sap) of his declaration of love. While Paul composes his poems, he entrusts his muse to Man Ray, the photographer of the surrealist group.

The collection of poems titled Facile is published in 1935. Its seven double pages are imbrications shocking in that time of the pantheist text and of the 24 x 18 cm photos of the nude body of Nusch. Printed in héliogravure, these twelve photos by Man Ray mark the variety of his know-how with lighting effects, solarizations and silhouettes.

Paul receives one of the five hors commerce copies on Imperial Japanese paper. Paul Bonet realizes in 1943 a surrealistic binding by drawing the intertwined silhouettes of the hands that the two lovers are alternately posing on his maquette.

The copy has been dedicated to the poet by Nusch and especially by Man Ray who expresses in words their close collaboration and friendship. Man Ray adds silver prints of three photos from the book as well as an original rayograph in superimposition of a solarized nude of Nusch and six smaller photos.

The book was sold for € 820K from a lower estimate of € 500K by Christie's on October 19, 2017, lot 23.