19. Chopin, Fryderyk. Extraordinary autograph letter signed (“Ch.”), in Polish, with an autograph postscript unsigned by George Sand in French, 1 page (8.35 x 5.5 in.; 213 x 130mm), Nohant “Wednesday,” postmarked (La Châtre 25 . . .”), [either 25 May 1842, 24 May 1843 or 25 June 1845], to Count Albert [Woychek] Grzymala in Paris; integral address panel in Chopin’s hand, with his red wax seal, neat seal tear.

A rare letter by Chopin with a postscript by George Sand.

Chopin and Sand ask Count Grzymala to forward an enclosed letter (not present) to Sand’s daughter Solange, and beg him to visit them at Sand’s estate in Nohant. Chopin proceeds to bitterly complain about the new railroad “ . . .which lets people off in the mud at Orléans rather than in the street.” In the final years of Fryderyk Chopin's life, one of his closest friends and confidants was Count Woychek Grzymala, a Polish émigré who lived as a dilettante in Paris. To him, Chopin wrote of his love for George Sand, the tuberculosis that was to take his life, his travels and his distaste for his life in London.

Chopin’s summers from 1839 until 1846 were spent in Nohant where guests such as Eugene Delacroix and Pauline Viardot were entertained. During the winter Chopin benefited from teaching wealthy aristocratic pupils in Paris. He produced relatively few new pieces after 1841 and never preformed in public. The great composer only gave occasional celebrity concerts to private audiences.

The date of the present letter is unclear. The date given by Kobylanska,
Koresponencja, volume 1, page 316n is 24 May 1843, Sydnow gives 25 May 1842 and Opienski gives 25 June 1845.

References: Sydow 456; not in Hedley; Opienski 199; Koylanska 35.

Letters by Chopin are extremely rare and those with a postscript by George Sand even more so.
$40,000 - $60,000

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by Profiles in History
June 11, 2015 11:00 AM PDT
26662 Agoura Rd
Calabasas, CA, US 91302

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$2,000 $4,999 $250
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