PORTIER (Paul) - Lot 226

Lot 226
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PORTIER (Paul) - Lot 226
PORTIER (Paul) Bar-sur-Seine, 1866 - Paris, 1962. French zoologist and marine biologist, associated with Charles Richet's work on anaphylaxis. Autograph letter signed "P. Portier", addressed to "Mon cher Franck" [collaborator]. Bourg-la-Reine, October 1952. 2 pages in-8. Charming letter in a tone at once affectionate, lucid and slightly disillusioned, in which the scholar thanks his correspondent for the documents entrusted to him and is delighted to find "[his] dear friend Franck with his generous heart". The conversation soon takes an introspective turn: Portier finely contrasts his friend's altruism with his own limitations, confessing with ironic frankness the effects of age - "Old age is selfish. I try to react, but I don't gain much". The letter also contains an interesting reflection on the notions of "non-violence" and "peace", whose semantic evolution he observes with some suspicion in the post-war political context, believing that their appropriation by certain parties has altered their perception. The whole is punctuated by witty remarks, notably in a postscript in which Portier amuses himself by writing on a paper "à la cave" that he assumes dates back to the reign of Louis XV, humorously concluding that he is hardly "à la page". An engaging document, revealing the personality of a great scholar at the end of his life, combining confidences, moral reflection and witty remarks.
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