THE INTERMEDIATE - Lot 267

THE INTERMEDIATE Literary, sporting and musical: Journal des Prisonniers Français du Camp de Würzburg No. 1, January 23, 1916-No. 85, November 21, 1918. No. 85 announces the end of publication. No. 15 (July 16, 1916) was banned: it was replaced by No. 15 bis dated July 19. The suspension between April 2, 1917 and October 6, 1917 is explained in issue no. 48: numerous camp departures (including Pierre Saint-Lanne, who left for Constance). This is Pierre Saint-Lanne's copy, with his signature on the 1st page of the 1st volume and his printed label, glued to the spine of each volume. Directeur litte'raire: Pierre Saint-Lanne, Directeur sportif: Andre'-Ge'rard Marchant. Texts by Maurice Béguin, Jean-Paul Berty, Henri Borel, G. Boulard, William Clochard, Sergent Combes, René Duchemin, Septime Gorceix, Claude Pellegrin, François Pellegrin, André Pons, Pierre Saint-Lanne, Charles Soulas. Complete collection. 5 vol. in-8 bound in slipcase. Joint: - 11 pages from the journal Les Archives de la Grande Guerre containing an article by Septime Gorceix entitled: "L'Interme`de, journal d'un camp de prisonniers en Allemagne. "This is the story of the journal, and in particular of the forbidden No. 15; - the manuscript of "À nos morts", signed Sergent Combes, published in Nos. 3 and 4; - 3 programs of performances given at the Wu¨rzburg camp in 1916; - 1 program of the Orchestre symphonique des Interne's allie's given in Vevey on September 18, 1917; - 2 humorous war sketches, signed Dunand; - 1 clipping from the Mercure de France (October 1, 1916) mentioning L'Interme`de; - n° 34 to 47 in duplicate, bound in 1 volume. In Les Archives de la Grande Guerre, Septime Gorceix describes L'Intermède as follows: "One of the most remarkable manifestations of camp life in Germany was the emergence of newspapers written in French by prisoners. Sent to neutral countries and to France, these exile leaflets could present captivity in a smiling light and serve as testimony against the campaign waged by the Entente press. It was certainly with this propaganda in mind that the German government authorized their publication. But the trap was really too crude. The French prisoners, despite the efforts of the Censors, defended their independence of thought and feeling. One of the newspapers welcomed with the greatest sympathy by French families and the Parisian press was l'Intermède, the weekly paper from the Galgenberg prison camp in Würzburg, Bavaria, which, in magazine format, appeared, with a few interruptions, from January 23, 1916 until the armistice. [...] "