THEATRE - François-Joseph TALMA (1763-1826, actor, Napoleon' - Lot 539

THEATRE - François-Joseph TALMA (1763-1826, actor, Napoleon's favorite comedian and friend) / Exceptional document: these are corrections in his own hand to the notice preceding his Quelques réflexions sur Le Kain et sur l'Art théâtral for the 1825 Crapelet edition in Paris - These reflections appeared on the occasion of the republication of Le Kain's Mémoires (Henri Le Kain, 1729-1778, was the most revered Comédie française actor of the 18th century, his memoirs were published by his son Bernardin Le Kain in 1801, from his papers) - Talma in 1825 was at the height of his popularity and his Art, his fame surpassing that of Le Kain, and in fact Talma took advantage of this republication, to express his considerations on the theatrical art / The MANUSCRIT shown is that of the notice preceding Talma's reflections, 2 p in-folio, written by a secretary (calligraphic handwriting) and with Talma's autograph corrections (in darker ink) - the 1856 reprint of this text confirms in the preamble that the notice begins with Je n'ai pas la prétention d'être un écrivain and ends with J'espère que le lecteur verra dans cette confiance ni un excès de vanité ni une fausse modestie (I hope the reader will see in this confidence neither an excess of vanity nor a false modesty), which is in line with Talma's corrections, it is also stated that the manuscript of the text itself of these reflections is in the Bibliothèque de la Comédie française (without the notice) / EXPLANATION: this manuscript comes from the archives of Louis-Benoit PICARD (1769-1828, actor, playwright and company director), and was kept with 4 other documents: 1°) An autograph letter (1 p in-8, unsigned) addressed to Picard, asking him to write the notice: Monsieur Picard, who does novels and notices so well, does he need me to send him some notes on the plan I wanted to follow and the works I wished to consult? I'm sending him these indications as he wishes. I'd be delighted if they could save him some trouble; there is no pupil in painting who has not been glorious in grinding the colors of a great master - 2°) The previously announced plan which details in 8 points what needs to be said about Le Kain, including an anecdote about his beginnings (2 p in-8) - 3°) A handwritten note on La Kain, written by the secretary (calligraphy) includes bibliographical information and details of an appointment with Talma - 4°) a printout of an extract from a private letter of June 1780 concerning Le Kain (4 p in-8) / CONCLUSION: the possible interpretation of these documents is that Bernardin LE KAIN Fils is the author of the letter and notes to PICARD (this publication was above all a republication of Le Kain's Mémoires), the printout comes from Le Kain's archives, and the notice was written by PICARD, which explains its presence in his archives / NB: this notice is very interesting because of the erasures and, above all, the strong passage at the end that was deleted in the printed notice.