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FAN SIGNED. An elegant and large 19^th-century French fan with polished walnut guards shaped like stems of a thorn bush, and paper-covered inner sticks, gold trim, with an “MB” monogram on one guard, and a gold colored bail and rivet, bearing the mark of the maker, S. Levy, 41 Avenue de l’Opera, Paris. This fan belonged to Marguerite Büsser (née Sichel, likely the first wife of composer Henri Büsser), whose collection of signatures of distinguished personalities ranges across many years (1893-1953) and disciplines.

EDMOND FRANCOIS AMAN-JEAN. (1858-1936). French artist and subject of a famous  portrait by Georges Seurat. Signature. (“Aman Jean”).

EMILE BERGERAT. (1845-1923). French poet, playwright and critic. Lengthy, 6-line AQS. (“Emile Bergerat”). March 1904.

SARAH BERNHARDT. (1844-1923). Celebrated French actress known as “the Divine Sarah,” best remembered for her role as Marguérite Gautier, the redeemed courtesan in Alexandre Dumas fils’ La Dame aux Camélias. Inscription signed. (“Sarah Bernhardt”). 1893.

ALFRED BRUNEAU. (1857-1934). French composer and Dreyfusard. AMusQS. (“Alfred Bruneau”). A three-measure quotation with lyrics.

HENRI BUSSER. (1872-1973). Composer and conductor of the Paris Opera. Inscription and signature. 1922. (“Henri Büsser”). His composition L’Archet, setting a poem of Charles Cros to music, was dedicated to his future wife, Marguerite Sichel, the fan’s owner.

ROSE CARON. (1857-1930). French soprano. (“Rose Caron”). “Salammbô.” December 1893. Caron created the role of the eponymous character in Ernest Reyer’s five-act opera Salammbô, based on Flaubert’s novel of the same name.

GEORGES CLEMENCEAU. (1841-1929). Prime Minister of France, newspaperman and defender of Alfred Dreyfus. Signature. (“G. Clemenceau”). It was as editor and owner of the newspaper, “L’Aurore,” that he published Zola’s famous pro-Dreyfus article, J’Accuse.

Louis Delemonde (?). AMusQS. April 1953. A five measure quote from Lucifer.

Marcel Drevort? AQS. (“Marcel Drevort?”).  July 1, [18]92.

ALFRED DREYFUS.(1859-1935). French artillery captain assigned to the Army’s General Staff; unjustly accused and convicted of treason in 1894. Inscription in French, signed. (“To an unknown friend,A. Dreyfus”).  May 31, 1902.

F. Dubufe. Watercolor sketch of the head of a young woman.

Jacques Dumani (?). AQS. Written in purple ink.

A.  Falgmon (?). Drawing of a young woman’s head in purple ink.

GABRIEL FAURE. (1845-1924). French composer, teacher and pianist. One of the most important composers and teachers of his generation. AMusQS. (“Gabriel Fauré”). Five measures from the first theme of the first movement of his celebrated Sonata in A for piano and violin, opus 13.

ANATOLE FRANCE. (1844-1924). Nobel Prize-winning French novelist and poet. AQS. (“Anatole France”). Apparently an AMusQ connected with his early work Les Noces Corinthiennes.

CHARLES GOUNOD. (1818-1893). French composer. A two-line AQS. (“Ch. Gounod”).

ANTOINE AUGUSTE ERNEST HEBERT. (1817-1908). French painter of the Romantic school. AQS. (“E. Hebert”).

ARTHUR HONEGGER. (1892-1955). Prolific Swiss composer and a member of Les Six. AMusQS. (“A. Honegger”). April 1952. A two-measure quotation fromhis oratorioJeanne d'Arc au bûcher,  debuted in 1938.

GASTON LA TOUCHE. (1854-1913). French artist and member of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. AQS. (“Gaston la Touche”). “Silence is golden.” (Translation.)

ERNEST LEGOUVE. (1807-1903). French playwright and women’s rights activist. One-line AQS. (“Leguové”).

JULES MASSENET. (1842-1912). French composer; the most prolific and important French opera composer of his time. AMusQS. (“Massenet”). A single measure quotation from his three-act opera Thaïs, “C’est Thaïs,” March 1894.

MOUNET-SULLY. (1841-1916). French actor who often appeared at the Comédie Française and was famous for his role as Oedipus in Jules Lacroix’s L’Oedipe roi. A two-line AQS. (“Mounet-Sully”). Mounet-Sully often performed with Sarah Bernhardt (see above), with whom he was romantically involved. 

EMILE PALADILHE. (1844-1926). French romantic composer. AMusQS. (“E. Paladilhe”). A two-measure, unidentified musical quotation.

ALEXANDRE PARODI. (1840-1901) French-Greek playwright and poet. A two-line AQS. (“Alexander Parodi”).

P. Thiel (?). Signature. February 1939.

GEORGES PICARD. (1857-1946). French artist. A red ink drawing of G. Clemenceau (see above). (“Picard”). 1922.

GIACOMO PUCCINI. (1858-1924). Modern Italy’s most successful opera composer after Verdi. AMusQS. (“Giacomo Puccini”). A three-measure quotation from La Bohème, “Mi chiamano Mimi.”

HENRI RABAUD. (1873-1949). French conductor and composer. AMusQS. (“Henri Rabaud”). A three-measure quotation from his 1934 work, Rolande et le mauvais garcon. 1934. Rabaud succeeded Fauré as director of the Paris Conservatoire.

A. Racy (?). Inscription signed. (“A. Racy?”).

ERNEST RENAN. (1823-1892). French philosopher and author of the Life of Jesus. Signature. (“Ernest Renan”). June 28, 1892.

JEAN DE RESZKE. (1850-1925). World-famous Polish tenor whose roles ranged from Bizet to Wagner. Signature. (“Jean de Reszke”). 1899.

ERNEST REYER. (1823-1909). French critic and composer of such works as Sigurd, Salammbô and La Statue. Two-measure AMusQS. (“E. Reyer”).

JEAN RICHEPIN. (1849-1926). French poet, playwright and novelist. A two line AQS from Le Chemineau. (“Jean Richepin”). 1915.

CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS. (1835-1921). French composer and organist. Signature. (“C. Saint-Saëns”). 1906.

Louis Simon. Signature. (“Louis Simon”).

AUGUST VACQUERIE. (1819-1895) French journalist and author; related to Victor Hugo through marriage. AQS. (“Auguste Vacquere”). An eight-line poem.

MAURICE VAUCAIRE. (1865-1918). French composer and lyricist. AQS. (“Maurice Vaucaire”).  1893. Lengthy quotation.

CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR. (1845-1937). French organist and composer. AMusQS. (“Ch. M. Widor”). A three-measure quotation with lyrics from his Nuit d’Étoiles, Opus 14, No. 1.

EMILE ZOLA. (1840-1902).French novelist; author of the famous newspaper article, J’Accuse…! written in defense of Alfred Dreyfus (see above), the French-Jewish officer unjustly convicted of treason in 1894, and published in Clemenceau’s (see above) newspaper “Aurore.” Two-line inscription signed. (“Emile Zola”). Rome, December 3, 1894.

During the 19^th and 20^th century, collecting signatures on a lady’s fan, an essential accessory of women’s fashion, was not at all unusual. Any female attendee of a concert, play or operatic performance would have had her fan readily at hand, making it an obvious surface for the collection of signatures of celebrities and prominent members of society.

One extraordinary aspect of our fan is that it bears the signatures of the three most important figures of the Dreyfus Affair, including Alfred Dreyfus himself, the French army officer unjustly accused and convicted of treason in 1894. France’s future prime minister Georges Clemenceau, who has also signed, came to his defense and his brother was Dreyfus’ attorney. After Dreyfus’ exile and repeated failures to clear his name, the Dreyfus Affair elicited a passionate defense by Emile Zola, published in Clemenceau’s newspaper and bearing the famous headline J’Accuse! The world-famous open letter to President Faure about the Dreyfus Affaircaused an unprecedented furor that revealed France’s deep seated anti-Semitism. The presence of the signatures of Dreyfus, Clemenceau and Zola on one object is extremely rare.

Normal wear to the fan, otherwise in very good condition. The original paper box with gold monogram and bearing the paper fan-shaped store label of S. Levy accompanies the fan.

Item #17092

Price: $8,500