LESSEPS (Ferdinand de). A very interesting volume containing - Lot 256

LESSEPS (Ferdinand de). A very interesting volume containing various preparatory manuscripts and documents for his acceptance speech at the Académie française on April 23, 1885. Small folio, 20th-century marbled half-basane. Contains: - A manuscript of 15 folios written on the front side, a secretary’s copy with handwritten additions by Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805–1894), notably on 3 additional folios inserted as insertions with corrections. This is undoubtedly the first draft of his speech, quite different from the final version. In it, Lesseps describes himself as a “man of letters in partibus” without, however, being a master of literature, poetry, or eloquence, and outlines his career, particularly his large-scale projects (the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal): It took the vagaries of political events to bring my career in foreign affairs to a halt, thereby making it possible to separate Africa and Asia by a Bosporus and to prepare, in the heart of America, a maritime passage between the two oceans [...] more diplomat than engineer, I sought, by bridging the distances, to unite interests and to lay the groundwork for universal peace from afar. This significant passage was omitted in subsequent versions. - A letter from Lesseps to Édouard Pailleron (1834–1899), dated Paris, February 7, 1885 (one page, in-12 format): I have set aside my first draft of the speech. I then went to Egypt and consulted the Sphinx. Here is what it told me. [...] I want you to correct me and, with your refined, witty, and charming pen, add a closing sentence that I cannot find. Lesseps approached Pailleron, who would in fact rewrite much of this speech. - A handwritten draft by Édouard Pailleron, sent to Lesseps for consideration (8 folios in-8 mounted on tabs, with numerous strikethroughs). - The new, fair-copy version of the draft, possibly in Lesseps’s own hand (8 in-8 folios mounted on tabs, with numerous strikethroughs). - A letter from Lesseps to Pailleron, dated February 20, 1885: Dear friend, it is perfect; I would not change a single word. I am setting my own projects entirely aside. You have a wonderful way of making your characters speak; that is why the audience is yours and always applauds you. This fascinating collection sheds light on all the preparatory work carried out by Lesseps and the Academician Édouard Pailleron (1834–1899)—a key contributor to the *Revue des deux mondes*—as well as their exchanges leading up to the final version of the speech. Printed version of the speech enclosed. Ex-libris M (with two wings) bearing the motto *In libro pax, in pace felicitas*. Stamp of Marie-Louise, daughter of Édouard Pailleron and Marie Buloz. Binding worn.

Stima:€600

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