Théodore de BANVILLE (1823–1891). Autograph letter, Paris, May 20, 1867, to Judith Gautier; 2 pages, in-8 (petit deuil). A lovely letter of congratulations on *Le Livre de Jade*: “It is indeed the winged inspiration of a woman, yet combined with the delicate precision of the poet of *Émaux et Camées*—a marvelous quality that, on its own, would have marked an ode: Judith Walter! I read these delightful pages with infinite pleasure, enchanted by images so true, so accurate, and consequently so fresh, where—as in all truly poetic works—the joyful order without which beauty cannot exist shines through. And at the same time, how one breathes in the divine, the invigorating sadness! This book will endure, “for it reveals a whole harmonious and tranquil world, dreamed up and made visible by an excellent artist”…