Pierre Bergé sought above all bibliophilic value: prints on large paper, contemporary bindings, autographs, annotations and more. This anthology of rare books deserved to be reintroduced to connoisseurs. Among these treasures we must mention two copies annotated by Stendhal: Mme de Staël's Considérations sur les principaux événemens de la Révolution françoise and Promenades dans Rome; the first and only edition of Maurice Scève's Microcosme; the rare first edition, in a binding with arms, of Montesquieu's Lettres persanes or the just as rare Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman; the important manuscript of Gide's Cahiers d'André Walter or the copy of Salammbô which Flaubert offered to Victor Hugo.

Highlights

Conversations with Pierre Bergé

Among the manuscripts, two key lots stand out. The exceptional copy of the first edition of Germaine de Staël's Considérations sur les principaux événemens de la Révolution françoise, annotated by Stendhal with numerous acerbic remarks, and the complete autograph manuscript of Cahiers d'André Walter, Gide's first book published anonymously in 1891. In addition, there are several books with annotations or handwritten folios, giving the copies a very special flavor. These include Victor Hugo's Chants du crépuscule and Lettres à la fiancée, enriched with poems and autograph letters; Promenades dans Rome, carefully annotated by Stendhal for a new edition; Verlaine's Dédicaces, with two autograph poems; Vigny's Chatterton, with a letter from Sainte-Beuve to Vigny written on the eve of the play's premiere; and two texts by Gary and Modiano annotated by Yves Saint-Laurent.

Manuscripts and Annotated Copies

French and Italian literature and poetry from the 15th and 16th centuries - duly represented - testify to Pierre Bergé's insatiable curiosity, always on the lookout for bibliophilic rarities. Fifteenth-century Italian poetry stands out with Boiardo's Sonetti e Canzone, one of the masterpieces of Italian lyric poetry, and Benivieni's famous canzionere, which belonged to the poet Philippe Desportes. Meanwhile, the 16th century is illustrated by a number of choice examples: the extremely rare first and only edition of Maurice Scève's Microcosme, the third edition of Ronsard's Amours followed by the very rare second edition of the Continuation des Amours, the Lusiades, Camões' great epic poem to the glory of the Portuguese empire, a copy of Montaigne's Essais from 1588 from the library of Joseph-Antoine Crozat, and the first French translation of Colonna's enigmatic and mythical Hypnerotomachie.

Literature of the 15th and 16th Centuries

Pierre Bergé's library invites us on a world tour. An intellectual open to literature from all over the world, the bibliophile had collected first editions of the great texts of writers from all eras to create a truly international library. From Italy, these include Boccaccio, Goldoni, Leopardi and Montale; from Spain, the main highlights are texts by García Lorca with dispatches, or his rare Oda a Walt Whitman, accompanied by an original drawing; Portugal is worthily represented by Camões. Germany is abundantly represented, with works by Goethe alongside those of Celan, Freud, Nietzsche, Rilke and Schopenhauer. In Scandinavia, we find Andersen, Ibsen and Kierkegaard, while in Russia we reread Pushkin, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Mayakovsky and Pasternak. Anglo-Saxon authors have nothing to be envious of: Byron, Dickens (the first writer Pierre Bergé devoured at the age of nine), T.S. Eliot, Anaïs Nin, Walter Scott, Percy Shelley, Stevenson, Gertrude Stein, Tennessee Williams, Walt Whitman and Wilde round off this vast promenade.

Foreign Literature

An avid bibliophile as well as a fervent music lover, Pierre Bergé has reserved a special place for music in his library. From Vivaldi to Stravinsky, Bach to Debussy, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Rossini, Schubert, Schumann and Verdi, numerous scores by his favorite composers can be found side by side. These include the very rare first edition of L'Estro Armonico, Vivaldi's most famous concert work after The Four Seasons, and the equally rare first edition of The Rite of Spring in its version for two pianos, published eight years before the orchestral score. Also included is the first edition of Brahms' first symphony in C minor, as well as those of Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera, and Schumann's famous Kreisleriana, dedicated to Chopin. Bound in red morocco with his coat of arms, the collection also includes a copy of Rameau's Code de Musique pratique, which the Marquis de Marigny had in his library, and the libretto of Grétry's opera, which was performed for the Comtesse d'Artois, daughter of Louis XV, under his coat of arms.

Music

An ardent defender of gay marriage, fellow companion of Bernard Buffet and then, with Yves Saint Laurent, forming one of France's first officially homosexual celebrity couples, Pierre Bergé appreciated the texts of the great gay authors. His catalog presents Beccuti's Rime, a collection in which he shamelessly addresses his homosexuality in the middle of the 16th century, as well as the Portraits de Peintres that Proust and Reynaldo Hahn published at the start of their romance, and several works by the amazon Natalie Clifford-Barney, including a touching collection of poems by Renée Vivien that bears witness to the two women's relationship.

Gay Literature

Among the most delightful provenances, undoubtedly, are that of Sade, who signed a copy of the extremely rare edition of Félicia ou mes fredaines by Nerciat; the copy of Athalie that belonged to one of the Saint Cyr boarders; Racine's copy of L'Histoire du vieux temps, or those abundantly annotated by Stendhal, such as Germaine de Staël's Considérations sur les principaux événements de la Révolution or Promenades dans Rome. Writers' letters tell a story, a small one within the larger one that Pierre Bergé loved, that of the literary, intimate or admiring relationships that existed between writers. These letters are intimate, when Musset offers a copy to his mother, Vigny to the woman he loves, actress Marie Dorval, or to Liszt, Balzac to a beautiful Italian woman. They reveal literary ties and admiration, when Flaubert gives La Tentation de saint Antoine or Salammbô with trepidation to "the master” Victor Hugo; when Victor Hugo in turn gives Hernani to Mérimée, who fought alongside him at the first performance. We also glimpse the bonds of friendship and admiration between Louÿs, Cocteau and Gide; Huysmans and Verlaine; Jarry and Rachilde when he offered her Ubu roi; Anaïs Nin and a woman who inspired one of his novels; Montesquiou and Proust; Gertrude Stein and Picasso, as well as Garcia Lorca, who illustrates his beautiful drawings. We should also mention those addressed to Pierre Bergé, or his mother, by de Giono, Bernard Buffet, Boltanski or Aragon.

  Provenance and Dedications

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Sotheby’s is pleased to give a new life to the books and manuscripts from the Pierre Bergé library. A passionate reader and knowledgeable bibliophile, Pierre Bergé had gathered a refined collection of around 1,600 books, musical scores, and precious manuscripts from the 15th to the 20th century. Book by book, with care and discernment, focusing on both the texts and the quality of the editions, Pierre Bergé composed a highly personal library, reflecting his impeccable taste. This selection of rare books deserved to be presented once again to collectors. With a fresh presentation and no reserve prices, this final auction will, like the previous sales of the Pierre Bergé library, become part of bibliophilic history.

Bibliothèque de Pierre Bergé : le dernier chapitre