Anatole France Autograph

Autograph letter signed, one page, 5 x 6,5 inch, "Dimanche" (Sunday), in French, to Michel Manzi* - concerning miniatures and the housekeeper, written and signed in dark ink "Anatole France", attractively mounted (removable) for fine display with a photograph, shows the French novelist Anatole France in a profile portrait (altogether 11,75 x 8,25 inch), with very mild signs of wear - in nearly very fine condition.

"Mon cher Manzi,
je ne puis me détacher de ces miniatures, que j`examine à la loupe. Je n`avais jamais vu rien de si fin et de si ferme à la fois. Elles sont admirables de main et de matiere.
Quant à ma gouvernante (c`est toi qui l`as nommée) bien qu`il soit difficile de vaincre sa stupidité agitée, je lui ai parlé de telle sorte qu`elle vous laissera entrer.
   A bientôt, ô le plus sage, le plus ingénieux et le plus aimable des hommes."

Tanslated:
"My dear Manzi,
I cannot tear myself away from these miniatures; I have been examining them with a magnifying glass. I have never seen anything so delicate and yet so firm. They are truly admirable - both in their execution and in the materials used.
As for my housekeeper (whom you were the one to appoint), although it is difficult to overcome her restless, foolish nature, I have spoken to her in such a way that she will allow you to enter.
   See you soon, O wisest, most ingenious, and most amiable of men."

* The connection between the Paris-based art publisher and industrialist of Italian descent, Michel Manzi (1849-1915), and the French writer Anatole France left its mark on the cultural and social life of Paris during the Belle Époque. Among his other roles, Manzi was a collector and a bibliophile publisher. Notable, for instance, is a dedicated copy of Anatole France’s work `Les sept femmes de la Barbe-Bleue et autres contes merveilleux` (1909), which bears a handwritten inscription addressed specifically to Michel Manzi.