Victor Hugo - Autograph Letter Signed By A Poet With A “valiant Soul” And “gentle Yet Proud” Verses

"Your poetry has the magnificent brilliance of truth and justice. I send you my old heart."

Autograph letter signed by Victor Hugo (1802–1885) to a poet “whose verses are gentle and proud ."

No place, no date [circa 1870—possibly Friday, November 25, 1870]. One page, on a double sheet. Dimensions: 13 x 10.3 cm. Mounted in an elegant double-glass frame measuring 23.5 x 20.5 cm (including the frame).

Having returned to Paris in September 1870 after nineteen years of exile, Victor Hugo was then living in the heart of the capital, which was under siege by the Prussian army. At age 68, he was revered as the undisputed patriarch of literature and celebrated by the younger generation of poets—from the Parnassians to Verlaine—who saw in him and in his Châtiments the literary symbol and patriotic beacon of the Parisian resistance. He put his fame to work in the service of national defense—notably by donating his royalties to fund cannons and by allowing his works to be performed and adapted freely.

On December 5, 1870, Victor Hugo noted in his journal, “Gautier came to dinner with me; after dinner, Banville and Coppée arrived.”

Hugo’s description of the poet’s style—“Your verses are beautiful, gentle, and proud. You are a valiant soul.” could (though not with certainty) refer to François Coppée. In November 1870, François Coppée was a young, highly militant poet-soldier serving on the ramparts; in October 1870, he published “Letter from a Breton Volunteer,” whose style could potentially embody those “beautiful, gentle, and proud verses” and that “valiant soul” that Victor Hugo praised and to whom he sent his “old heart.”

Large and beautiful signature.

"Friday, September 25

Come, poet, come, let me shake your hand!

Your verses are beautiful, gentle, and proud.

You are a valiant soul.

Your poetry has the magnificent radiance of truth and justice.

I send you my old heart.

Victor Hugo"

Illustration: Victor Hugo by Étienne Carjat, circa 1876.