Bernard GRASSET (1881-1955). Set of letters (6 L.A.S. and 6 - Lot 114

Bernard GRASSET (1881-1955). Set of letters (6 L.A.S. and 6 L.S.), 8 autograph manuscripts and corrected typescripts, and miscellaneous documents, from his private secretary Berthe Mandinaud, 1936-1954. Important set on the publisher and his writings. In a certificate a.s. (Garches July 29, 1938), Grasset declares "to have had as his private secretary from February 1, 1934 to July 1, 1938" Mme Mandinaud, whose qualities he praises: "work, regularity, method, dedication"... Attached is a typed testimony by Mme Mandinaud (12 p.), denouncing the maneuvers of Grasset's sisters and entourage, his internment at Dr. Buvat's clinic and Lacan's role... 4 long L.A.S. (15 p.), from July to September 1936, to Berthe and Roger Mandinaud, written from Divonne, where Grasset is resting after the trial against his sisters and the rejection of his ban, and where he is slowly getting back to work; they express his confidence in Berthe, and his tenderness for her... - December 28, 1944 (5 p.). Pathetic letter [after his liberation from the Drancy camp], telling of his gnawing loneliness, and begging Berthe to help save him from an atrocious neurosis; "l'abominable chose dont est victime le Français irréprochable que je suis. [...] it is a cabal of colleagues, under orders from Vichy, against whom I was fighting, for corporate matters, who, with three anonymous letters, provoked this arrest from which I am dying"... 6 L.S., 1953-1954. Grasset calls on the typist's services to finalize texts, and sends her his latest publications. 5 telegrams attached; plus duplicates of Grasset's correspondence with Léon Bérard, Benoist-Méchin, Frédéric Lefèvre and Lacan (1934-1936). Photograph dedicated to Berthe and Roger, June 1936. Plus 2 small photos annotated on back. 2 autograph manuscripts (drafts): Charité (on Rilke, 3 p. in-4), Le prix de l'homme (6 p.). Plus 2 ff. dictations with autogr. additions on Proust. 6 mostly autograph typescripts: Pourquoi j'écris ici (4 p.), Préface à La Chose judiciaire de Louis Roubaud (9 p.), Sur Paris (3 p.), Lettre familière à Charles Maurras... (2 p.), sur le Trocadéro et l'Exposition de 1937 (12 p.), sur la propriété littéraire (p.10-12); plus 2 ff. dictated with autogr. additions. Plus 3 typescripts: Rilke et la vie créatrice (with autogr. addition), Intelligence et bon sens, Besoin de peindre (with 2 p. of autogr. notes) Enclosed: - 10 letters addressed to Mme Mandinaud by H. Clouard, J. Deval, J. Hébertot, F. Porché, R. Thomas, etc.; - an important file of newspapers and press clippings on B. Grasset. Grasset.