HUGO Victor (1802-1885).

Lot 110
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Estimation :
20000 - 25000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 21 752EUR
HUGO Victor (1802-1885).
La Légende des siècles. Nouvelle série (Calmann-Lévy, Paris, 1877); 2 volumes in-8 in sheets, in strong parchment folder with red silk ribbons, green half-chagrin and percaline cases, in two green half-chagrin boxes. First edition of the new series of poems of the Légende des siècles, the first of which had appeared in 1859. Exceptional copy on vellum, specially printed for Victor Hugo and offered to his grandson Georges. It bears on the first blank page this magnificent autograph letter in black ink : "I give this book to my sweet Georges, and it seems to me that I give it to my beloved Charles, so much the father lives again in the child ! I bless them both, the one who is up there near God, and the one who is here near me. And I bless you too, as I bless your father and as I bless his brother, my sweet little Jeanne. V. H. March 13, 1877. Anniversary". These two strong volumes in sheets, superbly printed on parchment, were ordered especially for Hugo; the receipt bears: Exemplaire de M. Victor Hugo. Edition princeps. In his diary for 1877, Victor Hugo noted on March 7: "M. Quantin, my printer, sends me a copy of the new series of La Légende des Siècles that he had printed for me and that he offers me. On the first page, this is printed: "Exemplaire de M. Victor Hugo" I will leave this copy to my Georges". If the autograph sending confirms that his grandson was indeed the recipient of the volume, Hugo extends his blessing to all his descendants. The dedication is dated the sixth anniversary of the death of his second son, Charles, which occurred suddenly on March 13, 1871 in Bordeaux. He left two children, immediately adopted by Victor Hugo: Georges, born on October 16, 1868, and Jeanne, born on September 29, 1869. The poet's second son, François-Victor, who died two years after his brother in 1873, is also associated with this dedication, which celebrates the continuity of being across generations. At the death of Georges in 1925, this copy passed to his sister Jeanne, then to Jeanne's son, Charles Daudet, who gave it to the publisher, bibliographer and fine collector Léopold Carteret. The latter has written on the vellum binding of the first volume this note in pencil: "Unique copy in the name of Victor Hugo on vellum skin. Dedication of the Master to his grandchildren. L. Carteret. It is a relic of a very great price - bought by me from the son of Léon Daudet, from his mother Jeanne Hugo (first marriage)". Provenance: Victor Hugo; Georges Hugo; Jeanne Hugo; Charles Daudet; Léopold Carteret.
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