1893 French Educator Letter to Aimé Giron on His Lycée Janson-de-Sailly Appointment, Literary Patronage, Personal Grief and a Beloved Dog

On offer is an intimate four-page autograph letter signed “Albert,” written from Montargis on October 3, 1893, to French author and journalist Aimé Giron (1836-1907) and his wife, Marie Lucie de Romiszowski.

Combining news of professional advancement with an unexpectedly moving account of bereavement and attachment to an animal, the letter shows Giron using using his influence to assist a friend or associate within France’s prestigious state educational system. It also shows the same friend relying on Giron's wife to assist in a more personal matter. 

Albert opens by crediting the Girons directly for the good fortune that has come to him: “Permettez-moi d’user de cette formule, vous à qui je dois le bien qui m’arrive” [“Allow me to address you in this way, you to whom I owe the good that is happening to me”].

That morning, he had received an urgent telegram from the Rector offering him a choice among four important institutions: Lycée Michelet at Vanves, Lycée Lakanal at Sceaux, Collège Rollin, or Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Passy. He selected Janson-de-Sailly, which he calls the finest lycée in Paris, and expected his appointment within days. Although the precise position is not stated, his request for accommodation and board within the lycée suggests a resident teaching or supervisory appointment.

The letter provides a revealing example of how personal influence and recommendation operated within the educational administration of Third Republic France. Albert thanks the Girons for the trouble they have taken on his behalf and refers to a separate letter of gratitude being sent to an influential “M. G.” [It is possible that he is referring to Mr. Octave Gréard, then vice-rector of the Académie de Paris]. 

Albert’s professional triumph is complicated by a deeply personal concern. Because he will reside at Janson-de-Sailly, he cannot keep his little dog, Dame Poli. The animal had been given in 1888 to someone he calls his “poor little Lusignan,” who later wrote from Toulon asking after the dog.

Albert’s language indicates that Lusignan had since died and that Dame Poli had become an irreplaceable connection to the deceased: “Je ne puis me résoudre à abandonner cette bête, seul souvenir qui me reste de mon mort aimé” [“I cannot bring myself to abandon this animal, the only remembrance that remains to me of my beloved dead”].

Dame Poli had accompanied Albert through repeated moves from Corsica to Paris, Saint-Amand, Romorantin, Châteaudun, and Montargis. He now asks Aime's wife, Madame Giron, to help find paid lodging for Dame Poli through her milk seller or fruit seller, insisting that the dog must not suffer and that he hopes to reclaim her after a year. The passage offers an unusually affecting firsthand record of 19th century grief expressed through the preservation and care of a companion animal.

This letter is an evocative manuscript for collectors and researchers interested in Aimé Giron, French educational history, Third Republic patronage, Lycée Janson-de-Sailly, nineteenth-century professional mobility, bereavement, human–animal relationships, or the history of companion-animal care.

Condition:

One sheet of ruled paper folded to form four handwritten pages. The sheet shows moderate overall age toning, several original folds and creases, scattered small spots and marks, and uneven, lightly worn edges with a few short closed tears and tiny areas of edge loss. The lower edge is somewhat rough and irregular, while the fold intersections show expected handling wear. The brown-black ink remains clear and generally highly legible throughout, with no apparent material loss to the surviving text. Please review photographs. French Language.

Biographical Notes:

Aimé Giron (1836–1907) was a novelist, poet, lawyer, and journalist born at Le Puy-en-Velay. After beginning his literary career while practising law, he moved to the Paris region and contributed to publications including Le Figaro, Le Gaulois, and Le Clairon. He later served for approximately twenty-five years as editor-in-chief of La France illustrée. This letter adds another dimension to his surviving correspondence, showing him and his wife as active patrons whose personal connections could help secure meaningful professional advancement.