Léopold FLAMENG French engraver, born in Brussels in 1831, d - Lot 514

Léopold FLAMENG French engraver, born in Brussels in 1831, died in Courgent near Mantes in 1911. Acad. des Beaux-Arts: Autograph letter signed to Aimé GIRON Writer, Paris September 4 or 5, 1856. 4pp in-8° - "My dear GIRON. Listening to you, one would say that you are the most unhappy of men, that you are soaked with disappointment and disgust by and for the things of this world. That's today's twenty-somethings! In my day, things were different. We loved women, balls and parties. Our hearts overflowed with love, faith in ourselves and hope for the future. We reached our goals by working hard, with love. Fate is our slave, under the yoke of our will... Isn't Sainte-Beuve very poorly gifted? He has a Chair! and you, my dear Giron, who are so rich, you despair. Come back to Paris very soon, the countryside makes you sick.... Paris is a little blood, a little life.... La Presse Populaire will soon be published... It's an engraving that will cover the front page and which I hope will make an impression. I put all my care into it. You're the editor... The aim of the paper is to educate the people, presented in the simplest, most dramatic and most agreeable form possible... The paper will be non-political and illustrated with two engravings... Tell us about the Jacquerie, the childhood of the people..."