Romain Gary - Autograph Letter Signed - Gallimard - Les Racines Du Ciel - Juillard - 1955

Autograph letter signed from Romain Gary (1914-1980) to novelist and press agent Odette Arnaud.

Eager to publish Les Racines du ciel, Romain Gary threatens to leave Gallimard

"If Gaston [Gallimard] gets his ear pulled, we'll go to Julliard."

One page in-8°. [1955] On letterhead of the Commission Permanente du Traité de Bruxelles, London. *

Size: 20 x 16 cm

Interesting letter beautifully signed from a Romain Gary impatient to make progress on negotiating the publication of Les Racines du Ciel. At the time, Gaston Gallimard was in no particular hurry to respond to the author, as his publishing house was still burdened with unsold copies of his last novel, Les Couleurs du jour, published by Gallimard in 1952.

This letter is instructive, as it bears witness to the fact that the possibility of publication by Julliard was actually considered. In this vein, we find a letter from the same Odette Arnaud to Romain Gary, dated July 16, 1954, which strongly pushed in this direction:

"There is, however, one question I'd like to ask you immediately, as it will guide all our work. The question is this: would you consider leaving Gallimard despite the fact that it really is the best intellectual climate for you and also despite Gallimard's very deep friendship for you (...) At Gallimard we come up against an immense routine organization (...) No need to tell you the advantages of going elsewhere, because you can guess them. That elsewhere could hardly be anything but Julliard"

Very nice signature.

"Dear friend, how are your negotiations going with Gaston**?

Before going in for surgery, Michel** told me that it's Gaston who's taking care of the matter.

If Gaston gets his ear tugged, we'll go to Julliard.

Amitiés.

Romain Gary."

* In 1954, Gary was not promoted to first-class advisor until the end of his mission in New York. On his return, he was appointed embassy secretary in London. On the letterhead: The Brussels Treaty provided for the organization of military, economic, social and cultural cooperation between its member states, as well as a mutual defense clause. It was signed for 50 years by France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. It gave rise to a Western Union that prefigured the Western European Union, a purely defensive alliance.

** Gaston and Michel Gallimard, nephew of Gaston Gallimard, whom the latter considered his spiritual son and who tragically died on January 4, 1960 in the car accident that also claimed the life of Albert Camus.