Roger Martin du Gard - Lettre autographe signée - Les frontispices des Thibault - 1929

Signed handwritten letter by Roger Martin du Gard, addressed to a friend, dated November 16, 1929, in Hyères.
Written in brown ink on a sheet of watermark laid paper.

The author of Jean Barois and the monumental cycle Les Thibault has just returned from Tunisia and describes his stay in Hyères with humor and lucidity, contrasting it with 'sordid African junk.' He then discusses the editorial issue of the frontispiece for Les Thibault, which he considers 'absurd,' and prefers the idea of a good proofreader rather than that of a 'Mr. Painter.'

My dear friend, I have returned from Tunisia, yes, but I remain anchored by a cape to the rocks of the Hyères Islands, which truly compose one of the most soul-soothing landscapes I know, and which offer me some respite from the sordid African junk. Therefore, you shouldn't expect too much from a future contact. To my great regret.
I admit I had never thought there would be a frontispiece for the Thibault in 8. I should have, of course. Collection, collection... But, in this case, it still seems absurd to me. Doesn't it? How can you imagine a frontispiece for the Thibault; and more so, for each Thibault? It's crazy...
Couldn't we, through a clever transfer of funds, use that money to hire a good proofreader who would scrutinize all the French mistakes, spelling errors, and typos that I will leave behind?
More seriously, respond to me after careful thought, whether or not there is really no way to avoid the collaboration of a Monsieur-painter. Try even to get that from the high-ranking officials of the N.R.F.
If you don't succeed, then tell me what you think we could do.
I would suggest putting anything: the signs of the zodiac, one per volume; or the muses; or the seasons; or whatever you like, as long as it has no, no connection, no matter how distant, with the text... [...]

Letter of strong literary interest, demonstrating the exchanges between the writer and the N.R.F. regarding the publication of Les Thibault, which earned Roger Martin du Gard the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1937.

Dimensions: 13 x 18.8 cm
Condition: Good condition. See photos for more details.
2 pages

Carefully packaged and shipped in a rigid, waterproof cardboard box.