DUMAS (Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie, known as Dumas père - Lot 92

DUMAS (Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie, known as Dumas père). Photograph (sepia silver print) executed by Alphonse Liébert in Paris. Titled on the back: A. Dumas père et Miss Menken. Size: 6.5 cm x 10.4 cm. On the back: A. Liebert Photographie américaine 13 bvd des Capucines, Paris au coin de la rue de la Paix, n°184 [March 1867]. VERY RARE. The photograph shows Alexandre Dumas Père and Miss Adah Isaacs Menken standing in front of a painted canvas. The writer is in street clothes and the actress, in a leotard, tights and slippers, partially wrapped in a plaid. She stands to Dumas's right, their heads bent towards each other as they gaze at the lens. At the request of Alexandre Dumas, Alphonse Liébert had taken a series of photographs of him with Miss Menken. Taking advantage of Dumas's absence in Frankfurt, the photographer obtained permission from the French Ministry of the Interior to sell his pictures, and the Tout-Paris had a field day. American-born poet, writer and actress Ada Menken (1835-1868) began her career in her native country, then in England and France, where she arrived in 1866. She died of peritonitis in the summer of 1868, aged 33.