Description:

Remarkable Louis Daguerre ALS Re: Paris Diorama

A 1p autograph letter in French signed by artist-inventor Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787-1851) as "Daguerre" at lower right. November 27, 1825. [Paris, France.] On watermarked bifold stationery with "Diorama / Direction rue des Marais / Maison du Diorama" letterhead, referring to Daguerre's laboratory and office later destroyed by fire in 1839. Daguerre has also engrossed the integral address leaf, which bears the remnants of a red wax seal embossed with a "D." The inner pages are blank. Expected wear including even toning, scattered foxing, and an area of loss on the integral address leaf corresponding to the seal. Else near fine. 8" x 10.125." Ex-Estate of Charles Williamson & Tucker Fleming; sold at Bonhams on April 20, 2011 for $6,710 including the buyer's premium.

Daguerre wrote this courtly and flattering letter to René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt (1773-1844), a French playwright and theatre director who managed the Théâtre Royal de l'Opéra-Comique in Paris from 1824-1827. Daguerre's letter mentions two of the most popular entertainment venues in Paris at the time: the Théâtre Royal de l'Opéra-Comique, founded around 1714; and the Diorama, the hugely commercially successful artistic collaboration between Daguerre and his business partner, fellow French painter Charles Marie Bouton (1781-1853). Bouton is also referred to in the letter.

The Diorama was an astonishing artistic and mechanical achievement. Conceived of by Daguerre, the Diorama debuted in Paris in a specially constructed theater on the old rue Sanson, near the Place de la République, in July 1822. The Diorama was a novelty in many ways: it was a monumental immersive viewing experience that gave the impression of three-dimensions. At its center was a massive translucent canvas backdrop measuring approximately 70' x 45,' which was painted on both sides with highly detailed tableaux typically depicting natural features, architectural landmarks, historical scenes, or catastrophic recent events. The painted canvas was ingeniously treated with different lighting effects to heighten the sense of reality. A 350-person audience sat or stood within a revolving auditorium which rotated around the canvas during the 15-minute-long show. With its 300+ degree access to the panorama, the Diorama was truly the nineteenth-century's attempt at achieving virtual reality. Daguerre and Bouton launched a total of 21 Diorama exhibitions between 1822-1830; these included views of Chartres Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, Roslin Chapel, and the cities of Paris, Rouen, and Brest. Attending the Diorama was an incredibly popular leisure activity in Paris during its heyday, yielding about 200,000 francs per year in receipts.

Translated in part, and with punctuation and paragraph breaks added to improve clarity:

"Monsieur,

I received the letter announcing that Monsieur the First Gentleman of the Chamber is coming to grant me admission to the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique. If I reflect on the source of this favor, I must hasten to bear witness to my lively gratitude…

I have the honor, by reciprocity, of alerting you, that M. Bouton and myself, have put your name on the list of free admissions to the Diorama, regretting to be able to offer you but a small compensation because we vary our programming only every three months; but we pray that, any time you want tickets to the Diorama for your friends, to think of us.

I accept in any case the promise of intimate relations that circumstances establish between us.

Be assured, I pray you, of the assurance of my distinguished sentiments, before which I have the honor to be your very humble and very obedient servant,

Daguerre."

Though Daguerre is most celebrated for the daguerreotype--the new photography technique that bears his name--he was also a highly competent painter. Daguerre had served as an apprentice to Pierre Prévost, the French panorama painter, and this hands-on experience ensured the former's mastery over the full-scale Diorama canvases. Ironically, the success of Daguerre's other invention, as well as advents in photography in general, ensured the decline of the Diorama and similar spectacles throughout Europe by the early 1840s.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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