HALLAYS (André, 1859–1930). - Lot 136

HALLAYS (André, 1859–1930). Autograph manuscript signed with an initials. No place, no date [circa 1930]. 4 pp., 3/4 folio, numbered, on lined paper. An important autograph draft of an article or eulogy dedicated to the writer and journalist André Hallays, a leading figure in French literature, a columnist for the *Journal des Débats*, and an ardent defender of French Alsace. The text, written in a firm and even hand, is a carefully crafted working manuscript, likely prepared for a commemorative publication or a speech delivered shortly after Hallays’s death in 1930. In it, the author provides a comprehensive account of Hallays’ intellectual and patriotic role in the moral defense of Alsace prior to 1918, recounting his travels to Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse, Sélestat, Haguenau, Saverne, and Hoh-Koenigsbourg, as well as his ties to Pierre Bucher and the Francophile circles in Alsace. There are numerous particularly evocative passages, notably: “Hearts have not changed” and, in conclusion: “We will reverently cherish … the memory of this faithful servant of French Alsace” A beautiful account of the French perception of Alsace between the German annexation and the interwar period. The manuscript is of definite interest both for intellectual history and for collections on Alsace, history, and literature.