Max JACOB. 26 L.A.S., 1921-1944, mostly to Pierre Lhoste; 36 pages, mostly in-4, 2 envelopes (plus a telegram). Beautiful friendly and literary correspondence, mostly written from Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire. October 4, 1921, to "Monsieur Robert and good friend", on the release of the Terrain Bouchaballe, the review Écrits nouveaux, F. Mauriac "a type of future, one of the most beautiful fruits of the education of clergymen", Giraudoux, Suarès "this great thinker"... Quimper Dec. 16. 1929: "A drawing of mine is worth a thousand francs"... Bénodet May 3, 1930: he recovers from his illness with the sun and the sea air; Paris frightens him: an exhibition of his gouaches is going to be held there, and he is going to play "an abridged operetta at the Atelier"; he enters "the category of old cripples". Faire part is "a rather funny page which appeared in Literature at the time when the surrealists pampered me"... 55 rue Nollet March 20, 1934: "Remember that the poetry touches the ground only of the end of the foot. It is the art of the word, of the beautiful word in itself, of the beautiful stanza in itself. The emotion animates without always letting itself be seen"... September 3, 1934: "Do not call me master. I am as much an apprentice as you are and each time that I take the pen I feel the greatness of the task and my childishness"... 9 rue de Duras December 12, 1934: "I read with passion this concentrate of studies, this good synthesis"; he advises to send "this warm and calm defense of our Gospels" to a review... He draws his self-portrait: "my old 58 years old figure". January 11, 1935: his health was poor and he had to prepare a lecture tour. Lausanne, August 9, 1935: "I have 365 days of vacation per year and 365 days of work. I am a ball that can be pushed and stopped. [I write what I call poems"... Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire September 11, 1936, concerning an investigation: "All historians are intelligent because there is nothing but History to give these coordinates which are, I believe, the Intelligence. I often regret not being a historian"... December 23: "Yes, I am at St. Benedict's and, as far as man is free of his destiny, I am there forever. I am even thinking, if ever I can, of buying a piece of land here in the cemetery"... December 30, explaining how to come to see him. "You ask me what I do? Nothing else but what I have been doing for 40 years: I read, I write, I draw, I paint. [...] I serve mass and go to evening prayer with the parishioners"... January 20, 1937: "My poems in all directions of genres are accumulating in prose and verse; they are only waiting to appear in volumes with the kind offer of my publisher"... January 23, on his horoscopes. February 13: "Today we play dirty tricks on each other, but we don't despise each other any more, we don't despise each other even enough. [...] I did not know Mallarmé - but I knew Ch. L. Philippe, a poor employee of my kind, without hope if not without ambitions. [...] I am not a candidate for anything, at any price (for no price!) candidate for peace, serenity and friendship"... February 20, on his conferences, one on wine, the other "considerations on lyric poetry and on painting before and during the reign of Cubism"... September 29: "Do not speak of me [...] I have no other plans than those of the morning for the day, no other desire than that of being forgotten"... January 5, 1938: "I paint often enough but I can only make verses while walking and I can not walk in the snow and mud"... January 10 and 13, about his conference on Apollinaire. January 7, 1944 [he will be arrested on February 24] (browned paper): "I thank you for being good to me, so tried - and more than I can say. My memory to dear Charles Trenet"...