Étienne CARJAT Autograph letter signed to Henri de Bornier

  
CARJAT & CIE / Size: 21 x 13 cm. A charming letter on the wonderful letterhead ET. CARJAT & CIE, "collection of political, artistic, and literary notables." The great photographer, portraitist of Rimbaud and Baudelaire, is organizing a banquet in honor of the poet Théodore Aubanel, which will be held on October 9-10, 1878, in Marseille. He invites his "dear poet" and friend, Henri de Bornier. In return, Henri de Bornier accepts the invitation to dinner on the evening of the 8th before the departure to Marseille. At the time of this letter, Étienne Carjat is a famous photographer and recognized man of letters, while Henri de Bornier has achieved significant success with his four-act drama "La Fille de Roland" (performed by Sarah Bernhardt). He begins a career as a dramatic critic at the Nouvelle Revue in the same year, 1879, and will be elected to the Académie Française in 1893. Thank you for your kind letter and your cordial invitation, and forgive me if, to my great regret, I cannot be one of you. As I told friend Aubanel this morning, I have two friends from the provinces to dinner at my place. Please convey my apologies to Mme de Bornier and prove to me that you hold no grudge by coming one of these days to bring me your portrait to add to my collection of contemporaries.

I will try to do a portrait worthy of you. PS: Still see you tomorrow, right? We share this amusing anecdote from Charles Monselet about Carjat (dating from the time of our letter). "To move or not to move while posing – that is the question for photographers, and particularly for Étienne Carjat.

It is the measure with which he judges all contemporary celebrities. If one praises an artist or a high political figure in his presence, one can hear him murmur: - Yes, indeed. On the contrary, if one attacks some Olibrius in his presence, he will sometimes defend him passionately. You are wrong, he will say; you are unjust towards X. He has fewer faults than you think. - He does not move. (L'Événement, December 31, 1878).