Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
Émile Zola - Handwritten Letter - Reference to the Alfred Dreyfus Trial - France, 1898
Opening: $1,500
Sold for: $3,750
Including buyer's premium
Letter in the handwriting and with the signature of Émile Zola. Written in response to an offer Zola received from the newspaper "Daily Graphic" to publish an essay on the Dreyfus trial. Médan (village on the outskirts of Paris, France), 28 August 1898. French.
In his letter Zola writes, "Unfortunately I could not agree to the offer proposed by the 'Daily Graphic', tempting as it may be. First of all, I do not wish to publish anything abroad on the subject of the Dreyfus trial, since I am not publishing anything in France. In addition, how can they ask me to write even one line before the verdict has been delivered? This is impossible".
The French author and publicist Émile Zola (1840-1902) was one of the principal supporters of Alfred Dreyfus when the latter was accused, in 1895, of treason and espionage for Germany. In 1897 Zola published a series of essays in Dreyfus's defense, and in 1898 the newspaper "L'aurore" published his essay "J'accuse" - an open letter to the French president, in which Zola accused the leaders of the military, the War Ministry and the military tribunal of a miscarriage of justice. The letter's publication aroused controversy in France. Zola was sued for libel, sentenced to a year in prison and forced to flee to England. He stayed in London for about a year, until allowed to return to France.
Zola wrote the present letter at his home in the town of Médan, about three weeks after the beginning of the retrial of Alfred Dreyfus in the city of Rennes.
[1] folded leaf, 20.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks and light stains. Small tears to upper margins. Tear along the leaf's fold line, reinforced with acid-free adhesive tape. Missing tape to margins, near the fold line.
In his letter Zola writes, "Unfortunately I could not agree to the offer proposed by the 'Daily Graphic', tempting as it may be. First of all, I do not wish to publish anything abroad on the subject of the Dreyfus trial, since I am not publishing anything in France. In addition, how can they ask me to write even one line before the verdict has been delivered? This is impossible".
The French author and publicist Émile Zola (1840-1902) was one of the principal supporters of Alfred Dreyfus when the latter was accused, in 1895, of treason and espionage for Germany. In 1897 Zola published a series of essays in Dreyfus's defense, and in 1898 the newspaper "L'aurore" published his essay "J'accuse" - an open letter to the French president, in which Zola accused the leaders of the military, the War Ministry and the military tribunal of a miscarriage of justice. The letter's publication aroused controversy in France. Zola was sued for libel, sentenced to a year in prison and forced to flee to England. He stayed in London for about a year, until allowed to return to France.
Zola wrote the present letter at his home in the town of Médan, about three weeks after the beginning of the retrial of Alfred Dreyfus in the city of Rennes.
[1] folded leaf, 20.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks and light stains. Small tears to upper margins. Tear along the leaf's fold line, reinforced with acid-free adhesive tape. Missing tape to margins, near the fold line.