French actress (1810-1856). Autograph letter signed. N. p. 12mo. 1¼ pp. on bifolium.
$ 299 / 280 €
(88492/BN58353)
Charming letter to an actor or playwright, possibly Léon Guillard, asking him for a box seat for the performance of his latest play: "vous n'êtes pas gentil, vous ne m'avez rien réservé l'autre jour pour voir la pièce nouvelle. Ce soir, je voudrais la voir. Je viendrai au théâtre et je vous prie de me bien placer dans une loge. Je serai toute seule, car je ne veux pas voir le reste des spectacles et je n'inviterai personne à venir avec moi. - J'irai causer avec vous après [...]". - François-Joseph Talma discovered Louise Rosalie Allan-Despreaux in Brussels at the age of ten and engaged her to play children's parts at the Comédie-Française.
In 1831, she joined the Gymnase theatre, where she performed for six years, delivering a series of successes. Following an equally successful ten-year engagement at the French Theatre in St Petersburg, Allan-Despréaux returned to the Comédie-Française in 1847. For her return, she personally selected Alfred de Musset's "Un Caprice", which she had played in St Petersburg. The premiere at the Comédie-Française laid the cornerstone of Musset's lasting fame as a playwright. - With collector's notes in ink and pencil. Traces of creases and a tear to the fold..