KESSEL (Joseph). Autograph Manuscript Signed "A Tour to the - Lot 91

Lot n° 91
Go to lot
Estimation :
3000 - 4000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 4 160EUR
KESSEL (Joseph). Autograph Manuscript Signed "A Tour to the - Lot 91
KESSEL (Joseph). Autograph Manuscript Signed "A Tour to the Armies". March 1940]. 10 pp. in-8 in a fine tight handwriting, some erasures and corrections. Moving reportage for PARIS-SOIR, evoking the "candid joy" of men distracted from the war by the "theatre in the armies", and the radiant talent of HER MASTER THE SINGER GERMAINE SABLON. She performed on March 1, 1940 in "a military camp just behind the Maginot Line", while Joseph Kessel was in charge of reporting on it. VERSION WITH VARIANTS WITH THE PRINTED VERSION. « ... A DEVOURING HASTE POSSESSED THESE MEN. WITHOUT KNOWING IT, THEY REVEALED THE GREAT INNOCENT PASSION THAT WORKED MILLIONS OF SOLDIERS: THE PASSION OF FORGETTING. It came from the very form that the war of 1939 took, from its trampling, from its endless waiting, from its stagnant waters. Without in any way ignoring the risks of the outposts, without forgetting those who fell every day, without diminishing the patience it took to hold out against the rigours of the frost or in the slime of the mud, it can be said that the most dangerous enemy of the French army has so far been boredom. Worse than German patrols and batteries and mines. Worse than the weather... THE STAR OF THE PROGRAM WAS GERMAINE SABLON. EVERYONE WHO KNOWS THIS ARTIST HAS EXPERIENCED HER DEEP AND DELICATE POWER. I THINK IT COMES MAINLY FROM THE CAPTURED, PURIFIED CARNAL TUMULT THAT SHINES ON HER FACE AND WHICH HER VOICE DELIVERS. It seems that she can never abandon herself to the physical life without wanting to mix a little human purity into it, and that, on the other hand, it is impossible for her to approach the spiritual life entirely because she is always a little trapped in bodily bondage. This is the secret, even more than the resources of an exquisite art, of the double fire that runs through her songs. And it is also, it seems to me, the secret of the beautiful popular songs themselves. It was obvious, in advance, that the reputation, the appearance, the talent of the singer, would draw from an audience so sensitive and grateful, its most enthusiastic cries. I was nevertheless surprised by the storm, the typhoon that followed each time of absolute silence... One must have seen the candid joy of these men to understand its value... »
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue