Description
COMPLETE AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT of this vaudeville by Labiche and Charles Varin, first performed at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal on 24 February 1854 and published by Michel Lévy the same year.
The play takes place in a dungeon at the Conciergerie, where the perfumer Poncastor (played by Levassor) and the language teacher Frétillard (Ravel) have just been incarcerated, under the guard of the teller Farouchon (Octave); The two prisoners, arrested in flagrante delicto for adultery, discover that they have been deceiving each other (fortunately the misunderstanding is cleared up in the end); cohabitation is made all the more difficult by Farouchon's desire to take advantage of the situation.
First draft manuscript, entirely in Labiche's handwritingwith numerous erasures and corrections, presents a different version of the final text: the title Poncastor, which has been crossed out, is followed by the words c.v. [vaudeville comedy] in 1 act It is also titled on the back of the last page: Poncastor et Frétillard. The profession of Poncastor (from the Drôme) is not indicated, and the ticket collector is called Farouchot; the location of the couplets is only indicated.
The elegantly produced manuscript is bound in full violet cloth in the Bradel style by the Devauchelle workshops.
Bound in the modern Bradel style by Devauchelle, full violet cloth, smooth spine, black title page, gilt title.