Victor HUGO (1802-1885) - Adolfo WOLFF(circa 1810 - circa 18 - Lot 203

Victor HUGO (1802-1885) - Adolfo WOLFF(circa 1810 - circa 1875, Romantic character, presented as an Italian revolutionary of German origin, we know that he took part in the Conquest of Algeria in the French Foreign Legion in the 1830s, that he later served in the Papal Army, that in 1856 he fought in the Crimean War with the Anglo-Italian Legion, and that after 1860 he devoted himself to the Italian Revolution, campaigning alongside Giuseppe Mazzini and later even becoming Garibaldi's aide-de-camp; a follower of utopian socialist doctrines, he became the leader of the Italian labor movement - it was he who represented Italy at the First International in London in 1864, while Germany was represented by Karl Marx (Marx hated him) - He continued his militancy and his fights for a unified Italy, and would have become a true Italian hero if documents found in France after the fall of Napoleon III hadn't revealed and proved that, from the very start of the Empire, he had been a spy, a paid informant for Napoleon III's police - He then disappeared completely - Murdered? change of identity? he was never heard of again - And this character has not finished intriguing: the very serious "Marx & Engels collected Works" in volume 44, asserts that Major Wolff (as he was known during the First International of 1864) was in reality a prince Thurn und Taxis.... / Autograph letter signed, 4 p in-8, London, April 6, 1858,to Victor Hugo- Victor Hugo affixed his famous autograph "r" for "répondu" at the head: "Citoyen, Veuillez pardonner à un inconnu la liberté qu'il prend de vous envoyer un exemplaire de la traduction de la "Lettre adressée au Parlement et à la Presse" par la Commune Révolutionnaire, comme marque du respect et du dévouement que votre haut caractère lui a inspire. This letter is preceded by a "Preface" which is simply a response to the infamous "Morning Post", accompanied by a few reflections. You will notice a few corrections in the text, which I beg you not to dwell on, as they will disappear in the next print run. The publication of this brochure has caused me a great deal of hassle and difficulty. I had to knock on many doors before persuading a printer to undertake the job. Convinced that I wouldn't find a publisher, I decided to publish it myself, wishing to place all the responsibility on myself, and wishing the honor of being sued. I dare to hope that my wish will soon be fulfilled, for if the French text, in the person of the publisher, is translated into French, all the more so will the translation be. If need be, I would invoke my preface, in which I justify tyrannicide, while establishing, of course, my distinction between this sacred and imprescriptible right and assassination. If Bodkin [n.b.: Sir William Bodkin, Conservative politician], the "Pontififex Maximus" [n.b.: great pontiff] of the Crown, were too slow to act, I would awaken his pusillanimity with a mocking and provocative letter. Ah! they want to convert England, our last refuge, into a French province, like Belgium and Switzerland! Ah! Mr Bonaparte and his band of brigands, whose cave is called the Tuileries, could at their leisure label us the party of crime, murderers, enemies of society, and a host of other pretty epithets applicable to them alone, and we wouldn't have the right to protest, to unmask them! it would be too harsh. And when unfortunate victims have just atoned on a scaffold for the folly of their hearts, for their heroism, we would be arrested for the miserable consideration of a few months' imprisonment or expulsion or whatever! It seems to me that if I hesitated I would be unworthy of belonging to the party of progress under whose banner I have ranged myself to remain until my last breath. All I ask is that I be allowed to speak before the jury. My God! what a talent I have, a talent equal to my good will, to make a good scandal! I'm adding another little pamphlet that I'm publishing today. It's a defense on behalf of Bernard and the two publishers being sued. Their trial has been postponed until the end of the month. Had I been informed in time of this delay, I would have made the defense longer and worked on it better. I was obliged to write it in a very short time, so it is not as complete as I would have liked. Instead of quoting authorities, I would have liked to make extracts. If I may take the liberty, Citizen, of asking you for a favor, it would be to tell me whether I could draw up a more complete version.