Joseph Méry (1797-1866), poet, writer, journalist. - Lot 188

Joseph Méry (1797-1866), poet, writer, journalist. L.A.S., sd [December 1844], 4p in-8. To journalist Alexandre Dujarrier (1815-1845), manager of the newspaper La Presse, which had serialized the beginning of Balzac's novel Les Paysans from December 3 to 21, 1844. "Today, La Presse is dazzling, provoking readers. In Marseille, people are subscribing from all over. Interest in Les Paysans, which arrived a little late, has grown strikingly over the last seven or eight issues. The idea behind this novel is grand, true and courageous. Proprietors swear by de Balzac. [... ]" Méry was a friend of Balzac, Hugo, Gautier, Nerval Dumas. Dumas, in his Impressions de voyage (t. 2, Lévy 1851), said of Joseph Méry: "He is one of God's special creatures, whom He made with a smile, and in whom He put all that is good, elevated and spiritual in other men. Méry has the heart of an angel, the head of a poet and the spirit of a demon. Superb testimony.