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Le Chevalier des dames

1852200 x 250 mm

FULL AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIT with a fine alternative.

4 500 

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Description

COMPLETE AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT of this comedy mixed with couplets by Labiche and Marc-Michel, first performed at the Palais-Royal theatre on 16 December 1852 and published by Michel Lévy.

M. de Merlemont (played by Pellerin) is a domestic tyrant who keeps his pretty young wife Henriette (Maria Brassine) locked up. Henriette wants to go out with a new dress, when she is splashed by a gallant young cavalier, Nestor de Bois-Rosée (Ravel); wanting to make amends, Nestor chases Henriette home; the obliging husband appears and Nestor poses as the new servant.

Manuscript entirely in Labiche's handwriting. It opens with a list of characters, a description of the setting and the words : "To be returned to Mr Marc-Michel 33 rue de l'entrepont Saturday 11am".. It is then paginated from 1 to 59, with erasures and corrections, a few passages crossed out and marginal additions. It gives an initial version of the ending that is quite different from the printed text. A new 6-page manuscript, which includes the ending from scene 20 onwards, is played in finalised form and conforms to the final text.

Elegantly produced manuscript in a Bradel-style full violet cloth binding by the Devauchelle workshops.

1852.small in-4, Bound,200 x 250 mm,66 pages .

Bound in the modern Bradel style by Devauchelle, full violet cloth, smooth spine, black title page, gilt title.

Bio

Eugene Labiche

(born May 6, 1815 in Paris where he died January 22, 1888). He was elected member of the Académie française in 1880.

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