Signed Portrait with Autograph Letter and Other Documents

An interesting collection of items from the important French mime, son and successor of the legendary Jean-Gaspard Deburau, including a signed portrait, autograph letter signed, several theater programs, a handwritten synopsis of a pantomime production, and a short monograph on the actor. Contents listed below.

Lithograph portrait published by Dechaume, showing Deburau in his Pierrot costume, standing next to a small statue of his father in the same costume. Signed and inscribed at the foot, dated Orléans, 1856. Together with a later note explaining that this has been in the collector's possession for 30 years and hoping to give it to French actor Sacha Guitry. Rather heavy foxing and soiling; overall good. 6.75 x 10.5 inches (17.3 x 26.4 cm).

Autograph letter signed from Charles Deburau to the Director of a regional theater, asking to perform there with a group of 10 other actors. Paris, October 8, 1857. Creases and several edge tears; overall very good. 8.25 x 10.5 inches (21.2 x 27 cm).

Group of 1850's pantomime programs from the Thèâtre des Funambules, featuring Deburau as Pierrot in six different plays: Pierrot Maçon (undated), Les Deux Pierrots (October 1849; two copies), Le Boeuf Enragé (August 1850), Les Trois Pierrots (November 1850), Les Joujoux de Bric-A-Brac (September 1852), and Pierrot Sorcier (November 1852). With programs from several other Funables productions without Deburau: La Mère Gigogne (March 1859; two copies of the synopsis), Les Enfants du Soleil (n.d., two copies), Le Père Lantimèche (n.d., two copies), La Marche des Tartares (n.d.), and Madame Gargouillard en Train de Plaisir (n.d.) Sizes from 4.5 x 6.5 inches to 6.5 x 10.25 inches. Some toning, overall fine.

Handwritten synopsis of a pantomime show in an unidentified hand, titled "Les Suites d'une soupe à l'oignon" and featuring the exploits of Pierrot, Arlequin, Le Diable, and other pantomime characters. 4 pp. on a bifolium. Toning, creases, edge wear; overall very good. 6 x 7.75 inches (15.4 x 20 cm).

Essay on Deburau and the character of Pierrot by Eugène Briffault, from Galerie des artistes dramatiques de Paris, 1841–1842. 4 pp., with lithograph of Deburau as Pierrot by Rigo frères. Loosely sewn in yellow paper wrappers. Toning and foxing, irregularly trimmed; overall very good. 7 x 10 inches (17.7 x 26 cm).

Charles Deburau's father, Jean-Gaspard Deburau (1796–1846) was the celebrated Bohemian-French mime often credited with making famous the character of Pierrot—who would go on to inspire much Romantic, Symbolist, and Modernist art. Deburau senior is immortalized in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Children of Paradise. After his death in 1846, his son Charles was engaged to carry on his role as Pierrot at Paris' Théatre des Funambules. Charles Deburau was not as successful in Paris as his father had been, however, and in the 1850's began to perform in Bordeaux and Marseille. He is often credited with founding a "southern school" of pantomime.

The Théâtre des Funambules ('The Theatre of the Tightrope-Walkers') was a theater located on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris, sometimes called the Boulevard du Crime. Originally an informal venue for acrobatics and pantomime, a theatre was eventually built in 1816. The Funambules became celebrated for the performances of the 'Pierrot' mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau, between around 1819 and 1846, and also the early career of the great classical actor Frédérick Lemaître. (17435)

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Theater

Signed Photograph

Autograph Letter

Archive

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