NADAR: (1820-1910) An appreciation of the genius of Nadar from those who sat for him - from aeronauts and ...

NADAR: (1820-1910) An appreciation of the genius of Nadar from those who sat for him - from aeronauts and anarchists to royalty and revolutionaries
NADAR: (1820-1910) Gaspard-Felix Tournachon. French photographer, caricaturist and balloonist, the first person to take aerial photographs (1858). The personal Album Amicorum belonging to Nadar, and later presented to his son, containing over sixty signatures by a wide variety of famous individuals, some of whom sat for the photographer, many of the entries accompanied by sentiments of appreciation for Nadar, and some with original drawings, paintings, or musical and literary quotations. The large oblong folio album commences with an entry signed by Nadar, gifting the album to his son, Paul, ´En accord plus que parfait, a tous points de vues avec mon adoree Sainte, et en toute reconnaissance emue, je legue cet album a l´admirable enfant, qui de nous deux, nous donna toujours tout sans jamais rien recevoir, Nadar´ (Translation: ´In more than perfect agreement, from every point of view, with my beloved Saint, and with deep gratitude, I bequeath this album to the admirable child who, between the two of us, always gave us everything without ever receiving anything, Nadar´), further adding the words ´A la connaissance et reconnaissance de tous ceux qui nous ont approches´ (Translation: ´To the knowledge and gratitude of all those who have approached us´) beneath his signature. The album continues with entries by various luminaries including (in order of their appearance within the album) Anatole France (1844-1924) French poet and novelist, Nobel Prize winner for Literature, 1921, a warm appreciation, ´Nadar est le meilleur des hommes, le plus inventif et le plus courageux, le plus tendre, le plus fier, et le plus charmant. Si nous avions garde la puissance de creer des personnages mythiques. Nadar serait en France ce que Didale [Daedalus] fut chez les grecs antiques´ (Translation: ´Nadar is the best of men, the most inventive and courageous, the most tender, proud and charming. If only we had kept the power to create mythical characters. Nadar would be to France what Didale [Daedalus] was to the ancient Greeks´), dated at Paris, 14th December 1903; Elie Metchnikoff (1845-1916) Russian zoologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize winner for Physiology or Medicine in 1908, ´Hommage bien devouee a Monsieur Nadar a qui je souhaite une bonne et heureuse nouvelle annee´ (Translation: ´A well-deserved tribute to Monsieur Nadar, to whom I wish a happy new year´) dated 31st December 1909; Jules Arsene Arnaud Claretie (1840-1913) French journalist, drama critic and director of the Théâtre-Français, ´A Nadar la Bonte, Vieille affection devouee, On parle tant des "professeurs d´energie" Nadar, mon ami de toujours, ne professa pas, il prouva et il agit-il agirait encore´ (Translation: ´To Nadar the Good, Old devoted affection, We talk so much about "professors of energy" Nadar, my lifelong friend, did not profess, he proved and he acted - he would act again´); his son Georges Claretie (1875-1936) French lawyer and man of letters, ´A Monsieur Nadar, que j´ai aime depuis que mon pere m´a parle de sa bonte, de son courage, de son energie, c´est a dire depuis toujours, et que j´aime encore plus depuis que je le connais davantage´ (Translation: ´To Monsieur Nadar, whom I have loved ever since my father told me about his kindness, courage and energy, in other words since I can remember, and whom I love even more now that I know him better´); Angelo Mariani (1838-1914) French chemist and entrepreneur, the inventor of Vin Mariani, the first coca wine, which has been described as the ancestor of Coca-Cola, ´Je pensais que les gens d´esprit manquaient de bonte depuis que je te connais Nadar je constate qu´on peut etre bon et avoir de l´esprit. Aussi je ne sauvais dire combien je t´aime et combien je t´admire mon vieux professeur de bonte´ (Translation: ´I used to think that witty people lacked goodness. Since I've known you, Nadar, I've realised that you can be good and witty at the same time. So I can't say how much I love you and how much I admire you, my old teacher of goodness´); Paul Rolier (1844-1918) French engineer and aeronaut, pilot of the balloon La Ville d´Orleans which inadvertently made the first flight across the North Sea from France to Norway on 24th November 1870 during the Siege of Paris, ´Souvenir reconnaissant d´un aeronaute du Siege a son illustre collegue, le fondateur des Ballons de Paris....´ (Translation: ´A grateful souvenir from a Siege aeronaut to his illustrious colleague, the founder of the Ballons de Paris....´); and his fellow aeronaut Henri Bergeron, ´Deux mots d´admiration a mon maitre, Nadar! qui est pour moi l´eternel ideal que je ne saurai jamais attiendre´ (Translation: ´Two words of admiration for my master, Nadar! who is for me the eternal ideal that I will never be able to attain´); Armand Barbes (1809-1870) French Republican revolutionary, ´Il faut que j´ai bien envie de faire plaisir a mon ami Nadar, qui est venu me voir a La Haye pour ecrire ce mot car que le diable emporte les albums!´ (Translation: ´I have to please my friend Nadar, who came to see me in The Hague to write this note, because may the devil take the albums!´); Victor Schoelcher (1804-1893) French abolitionist, writer, politician and journalist who played a leading role in the abolition of slavery in France in 1848, ´Je suis de l´avis de notre cher et regrette ami Barbes seulement je ne l´expresserai de meme parce que je ne crois pas plue au diable qu´a Dieu. Je les regarde comme des hypotheses inutiles´ (Translation: ´I agree with our dear, late friend Barbes, only I won't say the same thing because I don't believe in the devil any more than I believe in God. I regard them as useless hypotheses´); Mehmed Fuad Pasha (1814-1869) Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, remembered for his leadership during the 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war in Syria, ink signature and inscription in Arabic; Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French novelist, poet and dramatist, ´Et s´il n´en reste qu´un, je serai celui-la´ (Translation: ´And if there's only one left, I'll be the one´); Louis Blanc (1811-1882) French socialist politician and historian, ´Il y a la grande et la petite intelligence: la grande intelligence, c´est l´hommetete´ (Translation: ´There is great intelligence and little intelligence: great intelligence is man's intelligence´), dated at Brussels, 18th September 1862; Celestin Nanteuil (1813-1873) French painter, engraver and illustrator closely associated with the Romantic movement in France, a very fine original pencil and charcoal drawing on a loosely inserted oblong 4to sheet of paper (approximately 34 x 21.5 cm), the image depicting a young couple seated in a moonlit forest alongside a lake, signed and inscribed by the artist to the lower right, ´A son cher Nadar, Celestin Nanteuil´, and dated 1873 in his hand (with a further incomplete watercolour study of rocks to the verso, and traces of former mounting to each corner), together with a second original reddish brown pencil drawing by Nanteuil entitled La Marchand de Plaisir, depicting a partially clothed young lady carrying two baskets as she offers her wares, signed and inscribed by the artist to the lower right, ´A son cher Nadar, Celestin Nanteuil´ and dated 1873 in his hand (slight traces of former mounting to the four corners of the verso); Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956) French composer, a fine A.M.Q.S., Gustave Charpentier, being five bars of music which he identifies as being from the third act of his most famous opera, Louise, with lyrics beneath, ´Tout etre a le droit d'être li - bre!´, signed, inscribed and dated beneath the quotation, ´A Monsieur Nadar avec ma respectueuse sympathie´, March 1902; Milan I (1854-1901) King of Serbia 1882-89, ink signature (´M. M. Obrenovitsch´) as Prince of Serbia; Prince Napoleon-Jerome Bonaparte (1822-1891) Prince of Montfort, the disputed Head of the House of Bonaparte and son of Jerome, King of Westphalia, small ink signature (´Napoleon (Jerome)´) which appears overwhelmed by the size of the page; Edouard Detaille (1848-1912) French painter and military artist, a very fine original pen and ink drawing of a French cavalryman, wearing his uniform and kepi, on horseback, signed and inscribed at the base, ´A Nadar!!, Edouard Detaille´, and dated 20th November 1876 in his hand; Desire van Monckhoven (1834-1882) Belgian chemist, physicist, inventor and photographic researcher, ´Ni en sciences, ni en arts, ni en morale, il n´y a du formule´ (Translation: ´Neither in the sciences, nor in the arts, nor in morals, is there formula´), 19th February 1874; Hector Malot (1830-1907) French writer, ´Nadar est un homme a qui l´on ne refuse rien - pas meme d´ecrire sur un album´ (Translation: ´Nadar was a man to whom nothing was too much trouble - not even writing on an album´); Emile Littre (1801-1881) French lexicographer and philosopher, ´Photographier un viellard de soixante-quinze ans n´est pas avantageux pour le photographe; pourtant il faut le hater sinon....´ (Translation: ´Photographing a seventy-five-year-old old man is not advantageous for the photographer, but you have to hate him if you don't....´); Emile Acollas (1826-1891) French professor of jurisprudence, one of the founders of the League of Peace and Freedom in 1867, ´Si l´on me voit-sur mon portrait l´air plus souviant que d´ordinaire, c´est que pendant que je posais, j´entendais une causerie charmante et que j´ai trouvee toute cordiale´ (Translation: ´If I look more reminiscent than usual in my portrait, it's because while I was posing, I overheard a charming conversation that I found very cordial´); Emmanuel Felix de Wimpffen (1811-1884) French General who distinguished himself during the Crimean War and other conflicts; Touchatout (1835-1911) Leon-Charles Bienvenu, French journalist; Charles Garnier (1825-1898) French architect of the Opera de Monte Carlo, the Palais Garnier in Paris, and other buildings, three amusing passages of text signed by Garnier, adding a simple ink drawing of a house and trees beneath his signature, 27th August 1877; Jean Mounet-Sully (1841-1916) French actor; Midhat Pasha (1822-1883) Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire and author of the Constitution of the Ottoman Empire, ink inscription in Arabic, also signed in English, 30th August 1877; Henri Martin (1810-1883) French historian; Emmanuel Arago (1812-1896) French politician; Armand Duportal (1814-1887) French politician and journalist; Simon Deutsch (c.1822-1877) Austrian Jewish bibliographer and revolutionary, a veteran of the Paris Commune, ´1855-1875 Photographiez ce qui etait entre ces deux dates avec votre genie vous y arriverez facilement et vos amis vous seront reconnaissants´ (Translation: ´1855-1875 Photograph everything between these two dates with your genius - it'll be easy and your friends will be grateful´); Jean Charles Davillier (1823-1883) French writer and art collector; Francois Coppee (1842-1908) French poet and novelist, fair copy of his three stanza poem Lied; Louis Leouzon Le Duc (1815-1889) French journalist; Aime Laussedat (1819-1907) French scientist, astronomer and photographer, ´J´ai connu, au cours de ma longue existence beaucoup de braves gars. Je n´en ai connu nide meilleur nide plus charmante que mon vieil ami Nadar´ (Translation: ´I've known a lot of good guys in my long life. I have known none better or more charming than my old friend Nadar´), the same page also featuring an entry by Nadar himself, signed with his initial N, being a Rime batelée, and at the foot writing 'Je transcris de memoire, par a peu pres, cet exercice prosodique en souvenir de son auteur, notre bon et modeste Eug. [Ernest] Prarond, poete Abbevillois.....´ (Translation: ´ I am transcribing this prosodic exercise from memory, more or less, in memory of its author, our good and modest Eug. [Ernest] Prarond, poet from Abbevillois.....´) ; Louis Leroy (1812-1885) French painter, printmaker and playwright, ´On n´a par d´idee avec un paletot...de viens de retirer le mien et je n´en ai pas davantage´ (Translation: ´You can't get ideas from a coat... I've just taken mine off and I haven't got any more.´); Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) English scientist & inventor of many Victorian items including the concertina and stereoscope, ´What cannot Art and Industry achieve when science guides the spirit of their toil´, 25th October 1873; Louis Clement Francois Breguet (1804-1883) French physicist and watchmaker; Infante Carlos (1848-1909) Duke of Madrid, the Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain as Carlos VII, and the holder of the Legitimist claim to the throne of France under the name Charles XI, bold ink signature (´Carlos´), dated at Paris, 26th September 1876; Elisee Reclus (1830-1905) French geographer, writer and anarchist, ´Nous fonderons la cite du soleil et nous serons dignes d´y entrer´ (Translation: ´We will found the city of the sun and be worthy of entering it´), 20th January 1891; Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921) Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian & philosopher, ´Oui, elle viendra, belle, rayonnante et alors seulement l´individu atteindre son complet developpement pour l´evolution d´ensemble de tous´ (Translation: ´Yes, it will come, beautiful and radiant, and only then will the individual reach his or her full potential for the evolution of all´), Paris, 15th January 1907; Giuseppe De Felice Giuffrida (1859-1920) Italian socialist politician and journalist; Ranavalona I (1778-1861) Queen of Madagascar 1828-61; Etienne-Jules Marey (1830-1904) French scientist, a pioneer of photography and an influential pioneer of the history of cinema, ´Le plus on fera de ballons dirigeable, plus on hatera......du plus lourd que l´air´ (Translation: ´ The more dirigible balloons we make, the more we will have......heavier than air´) ; Theophile Steinlen (1859-1923) Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker, a wonderful original pencil drawing of a happy, content black cat, lying in profile, signed by Steinlen in pencil and further inscribed ´A mon cher grand et bon Nadar, Beaux - indifferents - egoistes et tranquilles il y a des jours on l´on se prend a desirer - presque - d´etre comme eux´ (Translation; ´To my dear great and good Nadar, Beautiful - indifferent - egotistical and quiet, there are days when you find yourself wishing - almost - that you were like them´); Jean Aicard (1848-1921) French poet, dramatist and novelist, a boldly penned fair copy of one of his poems, commencing ´Que chaque homme console un homme/ Fasse un bien, donne une pitié/ Ne t'occupe pas de la somme:/ Ce pain sera multiplié´, inscribed ´grande affection a notre Nadar´ and dated at Marseille, 19th May 1902; Gaston Serpette (1846-1904) French composer, best known for his operettas, A.M.Q.S. of five bars with lyrics beneath; Robert de Montesquiou (1855-1921) French aesthete, Symbolist poet, art collector and dandy, a bold and attractively penned fair copy of his poem Les Belles Roses, May 1909; Georges Renard (1847-1930) French poet, political activist and historian; Varlam Cherkezishvili (1846-1925) Georgian aristocrat, journalist and anarchist, ´Solidarite! crie le peuple Georgien en se soulevant contre l´oppression. Cette solidarite revolutionnaire nous avons appris chez les revolutionnaires francais´ (Translation: ´Solidarity! cries the Georgian people as they rise up against oppression. We learned this revolutionary solidarity from the French revolutionaries´), and his wife Freda Rupertus, ´De cette solidarite francaise revolutionnaire vous etes la meilleuse expression´ (Translation; ´You are the best expression of this revolutionary French solidarity´), and others. A remarkable album containing an impressive selection of signatures by a fascinating range of individuals, all of whom held Nadar in high esteem. All of the signatures are to the rectos of the pages (which measure approximately 50 x 36 cm each, and are paginated 1-44, 46-51, and 53-65, including some blank pages and an incomplete table of contents) and a number of pages bear multiple entries. The album is attractively bound in half-red shagreen with Nadar´s decorative gilt stamped initial N to the front board and spine, the latter of which is also gilt stamped Album., also featuring silk moire endpapers (some dampstaining to the edges) and all edges gilt. Contained in the attractive original dark red decorative slipcase. A few minor tears to the edges of some of the pages and with light overall age wear, generally about VG