French playwright and novelist (1829-1890). Autograph inscription signed. [Paris. 4to. 3 lines on the title-page of the "Musée Africain" catalogue. Mounted on backing paper.
$ 245 / 220 €
(88398/BN58240)
Inscribed to "Mosenthal", probably a relative of the late dramatist and poet Salomon Hermann Mosenthal (1821-77): "A mon. de Mosenthal / Avec mes plus vifs remercimens [...]". - Belot's play "La Venus Noire" premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet in 1879. The present catalogue refers to an "African museum" installed in the theatre lobby, to be explored before and after the show. It featured kitchen utensils, toys, weapons, fetishes, fabrics, masks, maps and stuffed birds from "black Africa". The theatre gave out programmes and auctioned off the artifacts after the last show.
- As a pencil note on the reverse suggests, the narrowliy trimmed backing paper appears to be have been previously used to hold an autograph of Sir James W. from a journey to South Africa. - The catalogue title-page shows several marginal tears, one touching two words of the inscription..