SULLY PRUDHOMME / Signed Autograph Letter / Stances and Poems / Here Below

  
Autographed letter signed "Sully Prudhomme" to a lady Paris, June 4, 1889, 1 p. 1/2 in-8° on watermarked laid paper One word redacted by him. A gallant letter from Sully Prudhomme, referencing "Ici-bas," one of his most famous poems. How touched I am by the graceful lines you have addressed to me!

The testimony of a woman as distinguished as you are by your aspirations and talents is certainly one of the most precious I could receive. Thank you very much for the charm your voice lends to my little poetry "Ici-bas" and for everything you think of it that is so flattering for my verses. Please forgive me for the brevity of this hasty note, as I am currently overwhelmed by my correspondence, and please accept, Madame, the sincere tribute of my respectful feelings. "Ici-bas" remains one of the most celebrated poems of the poet.

Coming from "Stances et Poèmes" (praised in its time by Sainte-Beuve), this first collection allows the future Nobel Prize winner in literature to launch his career. By aligning himself with the pure Parnassian lineage alongside Banville, Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, and José-Maria de Heredia, Sully Prudhomme finds in Alphonse Lemerre the essential support for this first publication. The latter will publish, the following year, in 1866, the first of three volumes of "Parnasse contemporain," to which the young poet will actively contribute.