Sold For $2,258
*Includes Buyers Premium
ALS in French, signed “Sade,” one page, 6 x 7.75, no date. Handwritten letter from the Marquis de Sade while he was incarcerated at Charenton, a lunatic asylum in Charenton-Saint-Maurice. Directed to Jean Lamaury, attorney of the courts in Paris, the untranslated letter pertains to Sade’s ongoing lawsuit with the mother of his children, family relations, and the rescue of Sade's pledged library. The mailing panel on the reverse of the second integral is in the hand of Sade; the reverse of Sade’s letter, as well as the included mailing envelope, are in an unknown hand, presumably a Charenton representative. In fine condition.
The Marquis de Sade was sent to the Charenton asylum twice over the course of his turbulent life. His first stay came in July 1789, when he was transferred there from the Bastille amid the chaos of the French Revolution, though he was released in April the following year. More than a decade later, in 1801, Sade was confined at Charenton again, this time by order of the Napoleonic Consulate, which viewed his writings as dangerous to public morality. Unlike his earlier confinement, this second stay proved final. Sade spent the last thirteen years of his life at Charenton, where he continued to write, socialize, and even stage theatrical performances, remaining there until his death in 1814.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$250.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
Third-party authentication service applies only to signatures and handwriting, and does not cover the addition of sketches, artwork, musical quotations, etc.
