FABRE (A.). Autograph letter signed by a... - Lot 30 - Métayer-Mermoz Maison de Ventes aux Enchères Paris

FABRE (A.). Autograph letter signed by a nephew of Jean-Henri Fabre, addressed to him. Oloron-Sainte-Marie, January 25, 1897, 4 pp. in-8, envelope. CURIOUS LETTER ON THE LEARNING OF THE BASQUE LANGUAGE BY THE FAMOUS NATURALIST. "As soon as I received your kind letter to me, in which you expressed your desire to get a brief overview of the Basque language, I set out to find a grammar for you []. I am sending it to you together with these lines []. I have not yet heard Basque [which] is a true mother tongue, whose origins are unknown to everyone. I have interviewed some scholars in the country who have told me that all the philologists who have studied Basque have had to acknowledge that this language has no analogy whatsoever with any other language []. I wish you more luck, and if you could find the word for this bizarre enigma, this revelation would cause a sensation". The following is attached: - 3 postcards addressed to Anna Fabre (1893-1977), the last of J.-H. Fabre's children, two of which were written by his half-sister Emilie (1853-1931); they represent Fabre, his house and the Avenue de Camaret in Sérignan (1912-1919, 3 pp. in-16 oblong). - 2 empty envelopes addressed to J.-H. Fabre (30 November 1900 and 28 November 1903, stamps and postmarks), with the mention "Prix Montyon" on the last one.