Blanche de TRIQUETI, Mrs. Edward LEE CHILDE (1837-1886) Autograph manuscript, [Voyage en Égypte], 1881-1882; small in-4 (23.5 x 15.5 cm) of 168 pages [and 32 bl. ff.], original soft red Russian leather binding, gilt fillet framing the boards, combed edges. Diary of a trip to Egypt. Blanche Lee Childe drew from this diary two Impressions de voyage articles: I "Alexandrie et Le Caire" and II "La Haute-Égypte", published in the Revue des deux mondes on July 15 and August 15, 1882, later collected in volume: Un hiver au Caire. Journal de voyage en Égypte (Calmann-Lévy, 1883). This diary begins with the departure from Paris on November 12, 1881, and continues until March 22, 1882. The manuscript, written day by day, is written in black or brown ink, in tight, page-filling handwriting. It is embellished with two small pen-and-ink drawings: a turquoise (f. 5 v°), and a garland of flower petals (f. 26). It contains many variations from the published text, of which it is a rough, day-by-day version. The edition removes notes on the traveler's schedule, her travelling companions, visits made (e.g. to "Princess Saïd, widow of the penultimate Khedive"), shopping, etc., as well as the entries for the first day of the year. The entries for December 4 to 11, 13 to 15 and 19 to 22 do not appear in the edition; some are redated (the donkey ride to the Khalifes' tombs on December 30 appears in the book under the date 28)... Etc. Our traveler disembarked in Alexandria on November 30, then went on to Cairo the following day; on December 12, an excursion to Boulaq, guided by Maspéro; on the 16th, to Old Cairo to see the dervish dance; on the 17th, a visit to the mosques and Choubra; January 2, Giza and the Pyramids. On January 9, the Nile begins its navigation on the mail boat, with stops and shopping in Louqsor, Thebes, Philae, Aswan, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, Denderah... until Assiout (January 29)... After Saqqarah, the diary ends (March 22) with a visit to El Azar, "the largest Muslim university"... In addition to visits to monuments, the diary is full of picturesque observations on the costumes and customs of the Egyptian people... At the head of the notebook is a quotation in English (by another hand) from the 1st chapter of the Koran; at the end, a note in English on a papyrus from the British Museum, a list of Egyptian gods and terms, and a list of names of personalities. Attached is a copy of the book, dated 1890 (half-bound in black chagrin). Provenance: Château du Perthuis. Note: Blanche's family and friends were related to Valentine de Laborde, and she was close to the literary circles around Mérimée in the second half of the 19th century. She herself published several texts, notably in the Revue des Deux Mondes, including Impressions de Voyage, 1882, Le général Robert E. Lee (1873) and Un Hiver au Caire, Journal de voyage en Egypte, 1883, published by Calmann Lévy. It was her novelistic correspondence with Pierre Loti that made her a part of literary history. Edited by Hervé Duchêne in 2022 (Blanche Lee Childe, Pierre Loti, Ah! cher Loti, croyez-moi, le Masque avait du bon. Correspondance (Le Passeur)), this epistolary exchange between a mysterious oriental masked stranger ("Oirda, la Rose") and a young sailor-writer leads to a frank friendship. Blanche even provided the proofreading for Mon frère Yves and, after her tragic death, was the subject of a tribute to the memory of Madame Lee Childe as an introduction to Propos d'exil in 1887 (lot 75).