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Alexandre DUMAS

Caligula

Marchant, Paris 1838, 15,5x24,5cm, relié.

DUMAS Alexandre
Caligula
Marchant, Paris 1838, 15,5 x 24,5 cm, vellum binding
First edition.
Binding in Bradel in manner of vellum, double fillets and the date decorated on the foot, title piece in brown shagreen, board in marbled paper, rare restored and preserved yellow wrappers, binding by Pierson. Some spots, two angular damp marks effecting the page where the handwritten message affixed by the author is found, the others are lighter in the margin on certain pages, some pages have marginal marks, not touching the text, the page 31 was repaired in the margin.
Autograph inscription by Alexandre Dumas to Mr. Marthey.
Two other annotations to the manuscripts underneath the autograph of Dumas: “I cannot find the medal which Camille Doucet spoke to me and that Al. Dumas distributed to the audience the night of the first performance. J.C” and “I recalled having seen a copy in lead in the hands of Poret, in 1875 or 1876.”
“M. Alexandre Dumas, father, affirmed that, to succeed in France in literature, in addition to politics, it is necessary to dazzle the crowd with two things, the prodigality, even when one is not rich, and boldness, even when one has nothing much to do. An episode in his literary life allowed him, one time more than any other, to put this double theory in practice. It was the occasion of the Caligula, this tragedy which may have been his work that the critics were the harshest. On opening night, during the performance of Caligula, at the Théâtre-Français people passed around, in the lobby, a medal in silver, carrying on the front the head of Caligula, with the words Caligula, tragedy in five acts and on the back, these other words,Théâtre-Français, first performance of Caligula of Alexandre Dumas, the 26th of December 1837. Thus, the author’s dramatics were taken form the actions of the Emperors. Similar to them, he was attributed all of the sudden the right to mint coins.” (L’Illustration, 1877)
A rare copy bound on brochure and enrich by an autograph by the author.
$ 3 500

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