HUGO, Victor. Confidential" and "pressed" L.A.S., addressed - Lot 183

HUGO, Victor. Confidential" and "pressed" L.A.S., addressed to the editor of the journal Le Siècle: François-Adolphe Chambolle, "à lui seul". S.l., "Vendredi soir", s.d. [circa July 1845]. 1 p. in-8. Address on verso of second leaf with black wax seal and postmarks. Exceptional letter, obviously unpublished, from the beleaguered Victor Hugo. Hugo is trying to quell the scandal caused by the discovery of his adulterous affair with Léonie Biard in the newspapers: "Permettez-moi, Monsieur, d'espérer de l'excellent amitié que vous n'avez bien voulu témoigner que vous m'admettrez dans Le Siècle aucun bruit relatif à une fâcheuse et triste affaire qui intéresse malheureusement encore un autre nom que mien. I shall be deeply touched by this [? Publicity could only make matters worse. It is to what is most delicate in your feelings as a man and as a friend, and it is to what is most generous in you that I address myself in all confidence [...]. Yours sincerely. Victor Hugo". Léonie Biard is taken to the Saint-Lazare prison for prostitutes and criminals to await trial. To escape this uproar, Hugo went into seclusion and wrote Les Misérables. The letter is preserved in a double sheet of squared paper, bearing the handwritten title "BIARD", the name of his mistress, accompanied by a small drawing of a dagger, in the very style of Victor Hugo's own. Handwritten note at foot, in pencil, "comes from M. Noël Charavay, who got it from Victor Hugo after his death". Second mention in ballpoint pen at the head of the folio. Attached is a very long (7 pp.) and large (narrow folio) letter addressed to the "Vicomtesse Hugo chez Mme Vacquerie". Curious letter counting the entire life of a certain Alphonse, deceased at the time. Postmarks dated "August 21, 1849". MLL