André GIDE and his friend Marcel JOUHANDEAU.

Andre Gide (1869.1951).

Autograph letter signed to Marcel Jouhandeau.

One page in-8°. Stamped and canceled autograph envelope.

(Paris) 1 bis rue Vaneau. November 7, 1938.

“Dear friend, I am therefore writing your name (and with what joy – a little fearfully) on the still blank sheet of Thursday in my diary. But when ? and or ? All ready to join you at Cmdt Marchand either around 4 a.m. or after dinner around 9 a.m. It's up to you to decide – and if you prefer to come to rue Vaneau (where I don't think you've ever been) would it be for, first, a cup of tea (around 4am)? or for the evening (around 9 a.m.). My heart is full of expectation and I am your André Gide. »

Marcel Jouhandeau – Correspondence with André Gide , Éditions Marcel Sautier, 1958 – Letter 32, page 40.

In the said volume of correspondence, Jouhandeau precedes the reproduction of the letter with the following mention: “I paid André Gide, rue Vaneau, the visit he wished, which was followed by a dinner at my house, rue Commandant Marchand, in which Claude Mauriac took part. The latter, in his memories of André Gide, mentions this dinner, which left me with impressions that were completely different from his own. »