c.1863–1867 Aimé Giron Literary Correspondence With Praise for Le Sabot de Noël and a Report Rushed to the Le Puy Press

On offer is a pair of original French manuscript letters documenting the early literary success and regional publishing activity of author, poet, and journalist Aimé Giron (1836–1907).

Written during the 1860s, the letters capture two complementary aspects of Giron’s developing career: the enthusiastic reception of one of his first successful books and the practical movement of his writing through the nineteenth-century provincial press.

The first letter, undated but likely written around 1863, is apparently signed “Breysse, Jh" [likely Joseph]/ Addressed locally to “Monsieur Aimé Giron, En ville,” it offers affectionate congratulations after reading Giron’s Le Sabot de Noël, published in 1863. An excerpt:

“Il est impossible de ne pas renvoyer à son auteur une nuée de félicitations et d’hommages.”
[It is impossible not to send its author a shower of congratulations and tributes.]

The writer expresses particular pride because the increasingly successful author belonged, in some sense, to their own local circle. The letter provides contemporary evidence of the reception of Le Sabot de Noël, an early work that helped establish Giron’s literary reputation and was subsequently translated into several languages.

The second letter was written from La Darne, in the commune of La Voute, on September 12, 1867. Its signature is present but has not been confidently deciphered. Addressing Giron as a colleague, the writer acknowledges receipt by express messenger of Giron’s report concerning a competition at Fay, likely Fay-sur-Lignon. Although temporarily occupied by the arrival of relatives travelling by railway, the correspondent promises to review the report and return it early Saturday. An excerpt:

“Je vous le renverrai samedi matin sur les 6 ou 7 heures de manière que Mr. Marchessou puisse encore l’imprimer et le faire paraître dans son N° du soir.”
[I will return it to you Saturday morning at about six or seven so that Mr. Marchessou can still print it and publish it in his evening issue.]

This second letter offers a compact but revealing view of regional journalism in practice: manuscripts carried by messenger, editorial review conducted against tight deadlines, and copy returned at daybreak for publication in an evening issue. The reference to Marchessou connects the correspondence with the prominent Le Puy-en-Velay printing and publishing family responsible for numerous local newspapers, books, and periodicals.

Together, the letters trace Giron’s movement between literary authorship and working journalism. One preserves the immediate praise surrounding an early published success; the other shows him participating directly in the production of regional news and cultural reporting. The pairing offers valuable primary-source material concerning nineteenth-century French literary reception, provincial journalism, local printing networks, manuscript circulation, and the early career of a prolific French author.

Condition:

Two original manuscript leaves. The Breysse letter is written on one side with Giron’s local address on the reverse; the 1867 letter is written on one side. Both show expected age toning, old folds, light handling creases, scattered soiling and minor edge wear. The Breysse letter has a creased and slightly worn lower-right corner; the 1867 letter has more pronounced toning and fold lines. Ink remains dark and readily legible, with no apparent loss affecting the text. Please review photographs. French Language.

Biographical NoteL

Jean Antoine Aimé Giron (1836–1907) was a French lawyer, poet, novelist, and journalist born at Le Puy-en-Velay. He began publishing in the Revue de Paris while practicing law in his native city and served as secretary of the Société Académique du Puy-en-Velay et de la Haute-Loire. His early books included Le Sabot de Noël in 1863, Les Amours étranges and Trois jeunes filles in 1864, and Mystérieuses nouvelles in 1866. Giron later contributed to Le Figaro, Le Gaulois, and Le Clairon and served for approximately twenty-five years as editor-in-chief of La France illustrée. His prolific body of fiction and poetry frequently drew upon the history, traditions, and legends of the Velay and Haute-Loire.