Acquisition of four letters from Proust to Louis d'Albuféra

On 10 July (Marcel Proust's birthday), the auction house Beaussant-Lefevre held an auction at Drouot of letters, mostly unpublished, from Proust to his friend Louis d’Albuféra. The Société des Amis de Marcel Proust took part in this sale to acquire three letters by exercising the pre-emption right afforded to us under the "Musée de France" label attached to the Maison de Tante Léonie (article L123-3 of the Code du patrimoine).

These are three letters in which Proust discusses, respectively, the absence of his late parents, a dinner given by Montesquiou at his parents' home, and his love of literature.

In addition, lot 7 consisted of a long humorous poem in which Proust consoles d’Albuféra, who was obliged to enter into a marriage of convenience. Estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000 euros, it had been excluded from our pre-emption file. However, having noted that it found no bidder at 6,000 euros, we decided to purchase it as well, on account of its highly original character.

These acquisitions will enrich the collections of the Maison de Tante Léonie. They were made possible thanks to the support of the Ministère de la Culture and the Département d’Eure-et-Loir, who have granted us an exceptional subsidy covering around two-thirds of the cost. The Société des Amis de Marcel Proust extends its warm thanks to them.