Victor HUGO. The recovery of Hernani and the Universal Exhibition of 1867.

Victor HUGO (1802.1885)

Autograph letter signed to Nestor Roqueplan.  

A page in-12° on paper bearing a fleur-de-lys coat of arms.

Hauteville house. June 29 [1867]

Very beautiful letter from the great man evoking the resumption of Hernani in Paris and the Universal Exhibition of 1867.

Hugo warmly thanks his friend Roqueplan for his article on Hernani and his pages on The theaters published in the Paris-Guide of 1867 (for which Hugo had written the preface).

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“My dear and cordial colleague, there are good old memories between us, sweet like our youth, charming like your spirit  ; I found these indelible memories in your beautiful chapter in the Paris-Guide on theaters, and in your excellent article on Hernani . You certainly think of some of your restrictions, but I have an advantage over you in that I understand them all, and I extend my arms across the sea to our old young friendship, still alive. Victor Hugo. »

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In 1867, while the Universal Exhibition was being prepared in Paris, the revival of Hernani at the Théâtre-Français was decided.  Concentrated on writing the introduction to the Paris-Guide, Victor Hugo tasked Auguste Vacquerie and Paul Meurice with taking care of it for him.  This revival marks a turning point in the career of Victor Hugo, whose theater had been censored on all French stages since the establishment of the Second Empire. On June 20, 1867, the first performance at the Théâtre-Français turned into a triumph. The articles are laudatory, like those of Mario Proth in L'Europe and Théophile Gautier in  Le Moniteur.

From April 1 ^to November 3, 1867, France celebrated its second Universal Exhibition, designed to mark the peak of the Second Empire. Ten to eleven million visitors come, a dozen monarchs, 42,217 exhibitors spread over 46 hectares. To accompany this exceptional adventure, an equally unique editorial event is being set up under the leadership of the publisher Lacroix: the publication of the Paris-Guide. Prefaced by Victor Hugo, the work obtains the collaboration of the greatest writers of the moment: Gautier, Sand, Renan, Quinet, Dumas, his son, Champfleury, Monnier, Banville, Du Camp, Kock, Féval, Sardou, the Sainte-Criques Beuve and Taine, Janin, and Michelet.