Rare books from Lion Heart Autographs Inc

BERLIOZ, HECTOR. (1803-1869). French composer; creator of Harold in Italy, Symphonie Fantastique, and other masterpieces. ALS. ("Hector Berlioz"). 2pp. 4to. Paris, October 9, 1834. To l'intendant general de la liste civile. In French with translation.
"I am planning to give three concerts over the course of next November. The Salle des Menus Plaisirs, which you have been kind enough to make available to me several times in the past, is really the only venue in Paris that lends itself to these kinds of musical events. So I request that you will grant me permission to hold mine there. These concerts, just like the ones I gave last years, would take place on Sundays at 2 in the afternoon. With all my respect, dear General Intendant, your humble servant…"
The 1830s were difficult for Berlioz. Bereft of the recognition he craved, and unable to earn a steady income from composing, he worked as a critic for several journals and newspapers and accepted the few commissions that came his way. Nevertheless, he… Read More

TURGENEV, IVAN. (1818-1883). Russian novelist, poet, and playwright; his novel Fathers and Sons is a masterpiece of 19th-century Russian literature. AMsS. ("Ivan Tourguineff"). 1p. Small 8vo. Bade[n], 1869. In French with translation on stationery blind-embossed with his initials. A quatrain from part of a longer work ("Stances Irregulières") that Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) sent to King Frederick the Great's sister, Princess (later Queen) Louisa Ulrika of Sweden (1720-1782), in January 1747.
"S'occuper c'est savoir jouir
L'oisiveté pèse et tourmente;
L'âme est un feu, qu'il faut nourrir
Et qui s'éteint, s'il ne s'augmente"
[Translation:]
"To keep busy is to know how to enjoy
Idleness weighs and torments;
The soul is a fire, which must be fed
And which goes out, if it does not grow"Following his education in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Turgenev left for Berlin to study philosophy and history at the university where he became enamored of Germany and its development since the Age… Read More

BOUGAINVILLE, LOUIS-ANTOINE. (1729-1811). French navigator who led the first French voyage around the world in 1766-1769, making significant geographical observations; the South American climbing plant Bougainvillea is named in his honor. ADS. ("De Bougainville"). ½p. Tall 4to. Versailles, September 5, 1764. To the French Minister of Foreign Affairs ÉTIENNE FRANÇOIS, DUC DE CHOISEUL (1719-1785). In French with translation.
"Memorandum

Mr de Bougainville begs Monseigneur the Duke de Choiseul to be good enough to grant Sir de Romainville an appointment of infantry lieutenant. This young man embarks with him and must be employed in the colony both for detachments and for the reconnaissance of the island. He's already participated to the campaigns of 1759 and 1760 and 1761 as volunteer in the chasseurs of Conflans and that of 1762 as aide-de-camp of Mr. Dennery chief of the Condé army general staff..."
A French army officer who worked in London's French embassy, Bougainville served as General… Read More

BEN-GURION, DAVID. (1886-1973). Polish-born, Israeli statesman who became Israel's first prime minister after proclaiming its independence in 1948. ALS. ("D. Ben Gurion"). 1p. Postcard. Jerusalem, March 6, 1955. To Israeli historian and politician BEN-ZION DINUR (1884-1973). In Hebrew with translation. The postcard bears a postal cancellation that commemorates the 40th anniversary of the formation of Trumpeldor's famous Zionist Mule Corps.
"On the fortieth anniversary of the establishment of the 'Zionist Mule Corps' by Joseph Trumpeldor and his friends, the youth should know more about the personal example set by the members of the Second Aliyah, whose actions and heroism have become the personal educator [?] of the people…"

An early Zionist, Ben-Gurion moved to Palestine in 1906 to take up farming. Following his expulsion by Turkey at the outbreak of World War I, he rallied British and American support to promote increased Jewish immigration to Palestine, and after spending decades strengthening… Read More

FREUD, SIGMUND. (1856-1939). Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis. ADS. ("Prof. Dr. Sigm. Freud"). 1¼pp. 8vo. Vienna, October 30, 1933. On his personal Berggasse 19 stationery. To his protégé and friend, Austrian psychoanalyst THEODOR REIK (1888-1969). With Reik's autograph manuscript defining psychology. 1p. 8vo. N.p., n.d. In German with translations.
"Testimonial

It is a well-known fact for everybody who knows psychoanalytical literature that the numerous works of Dr. Theodor Reik about the application of psychoanalysis, especially those concerning religion and ritual, are among the best and most influential in the field, I would say even one of a kind. Whosoever has the opportunity should feel obligated to support Dr. Reik's career and to assist him in order to enable him to continue his work…"
Reik's autograph manuscript about psychology states:
"Technique Sais [?]
Psychology is the scientific endeavor to master your own emotions using the object of another person through… Read More

MILHAUD, DARIUS. (1892-1974). French composer of Le Boeuf sur le toit, La Creation du Monde
and other 20th-century repertoire staples; a member of Les Six. AMusMsS. ("D. Milhaud"). 3pp. Folio. (11" x 13 ¼"). N.p., [1941]. In French. Three pages of a musical manuscript scored for first violin entitled Trois Chanson de Ronsard, totaling 156 measures for three of the four poems: "A une Fontaine (Mouvt. de Valse)," "A Cupidon (Modéré)" and "Dieu vous gard' (Vif)."
One of the 20th century's most prolific composers, Milhaud's modernist works bear the influence of Brazilian popular music as well as jazz and make innovative use of polytonality. A student of Charles Widor and Vincent d'Indy as well as a member of Les Six, Milhaud's pupils included Dave Brubeck, Burt Bacharach and Steve Reich.
Milhaud first set the poetry of Pierre de Ronsard
(1524-1585) to music in 1934 with his Les Amours de Ronsard. He drew further inspiration from the French poet to compose Quatre Chansons de Ronsard in 1941 for French… Read More

BERNHARDT, SARAH. (1844-1923). Celebrated French actress known as "the Divine Sarah," best remembered for her role as Marguérite Gautier, the redeemed courtesan in Alexandre Dumas fils' La Dame aux Camélias. SP. ("Sarah Bernhardt"). 1p. Oblong Folio. New York, 1896. In French.
Additionally signed by photographer, J. Byron. Several damp stains which affect several letters of the signature. Lightly bumped at edges. In overall very good condition.

COOPER, JAMES FENIMORE. (1789-1851). Prolific and influential American author of the classics The Last of the Mohicans and The Deerslayer. ALS. ("J. Fenimore Cooper"). 1p. 4to. Philadelphia, February 11, 1839. To American businessman JAMES DE PEYSTER OGDEN (1790-1870).
"Voici the note:

Jan 1st Detroit, 1839

$2250. Six months from date I promise to pay to the order of George C. Gibbs. James S. Sandford, & Dwight Gordon, two thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, with interest, for value received, payable at the office of the North American Banking and Trust Company in the city of New York. Signed – Sidney Ketchum.

Endorsed
George G. Gibbs
James S. Sandford
Dwight Gordon

Pay to the order of
…
J. Fenimore Cooper Esquire
H. H. Comstock

There you have a facsimile of the note, which has just got back. Comstock suspects that the note will be paid, and says it is the best that can be given [?] in Michigan. I wait your answer.

Comstock adds that he has a bond and mortgage for $25,000 on… Read More

DEGAS, EDGAR. (1834-1917). French artist and one of the founders of Impressionism. ALS. ("Degas"). 1p. 12mo. (Paris), July 26, 1897. To Monsieur Baudin [possibly French porcelain maker, labor activist and member of the Chamber of Deputies EUGÈNE BAUDIN (1853-1918)]. In French with translation.

"If you are still at Mont Dore the 3rd or the 4th, we are going to see one another. I am going there for a cure. I am writing to you in Paris hoping it will be forwarded to you, and at the same time I am writing to Mont Dore assuming that the mailman will find you…"

Degas began to study painting early – first at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and then in Italy. He exhibited his realistic works at the Salon, but by the 1870s he had become disillusioned with that staid institution. At that time, he took a leading role among his colleagues Renoir, Monet, Sisley, and Pissarro to launch their own exhibit in 1874. Famously, Monet's Impression: Sunrise was on view,
earning its members the appellation "Impressionists,"… Read More

DUNCAN, ISADORA.
(1878-1927). American dancer who introduced the art of interpretive dance. ALS. ("Isadora"). 2pp. 4to. Viareggio, (Circa November/December, 1913). On her monogrammed Neuilly stationery the address of which she has crossed out and replaced with, "Villa Rigatti, Viareggio, Italy."
"I am here in a villa by the sea dying of despair – Eleanora Duse was here very ill but she has left – I am all alone & I have hardly left the courage to move. I feel I am at the end of all & my efforts were in vain. I struggled but the thing has killed me after all – Paris is in place [des] Vosges. Do you see him? Write me your plans. I have no force even to write – …"
A visionary of modern dance, Duncan left the United States at 21 to pursue a career in Europe where her popular performances in Berlin, Budapest, Munich, Vienna, and other European cities, led to friendships with many notable contemporaries. Duncan's success enabled her to open dance schools in France, Germany, Russia, and the United… Read More

LAWRENCE, D.H.
(1885-1930). English author whose works, including the novels Sons and Lovers, Women in Love and Lady Chatterley's Lover, examined the modern human condition and contemporary sexual mores and FRIEDA VON RICHTHOFEN
LAWRENCE (1879-1956), Lawrence's wife, and cousin of the German WWI aviation ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen, known as "the Red Baron." ALS. ("D.H.L.") and ("F."). 4pp. (1½pp. written by Lawrence in English and 2½pp. written by Frieda in German on the same folded sheet of paper). 8vo. [Irschenhausen, September 16-17, 1927.] To Frieda's sister, pioneering German social scientist ELSE JAFFE RICHTHOFEN
(1874-1973).
Frieda writes:
"The money is here. Lorenzo was chopping wood when I just returned from Mrs. Häuslmeyer. 3 lovely days; we even saw deer twice. They were looking at us with a curious expression. We liked Schönberner, and the Kahlers came – very nice, but both tired and anxious; she is charming and Sunday we are going there with Barby. I tore down the cow stable… Read More