HANOTAUX (Gabriel). - Lot 138

HANOTAUX (Gabriel). Born in Beaurevoir (Aisne), 1853—died in 1944. French historian, diplomat, and politician; member of the Académie française; former Minister of Foreign Affairs. Autograph letter signed “G. Hanotaux,” addressed to “My dear Bréjean.” February 1, 1907. 1 page, in-8 format, violet ink, on mourning paper. An interesting letter in which Gabriel Hanotaux asks his correspondent to convey his thanks to the Orientalist Victor Houdas, whose “most valuable insights” regarding his work on Arabic manuscripts he highlights. He also expresses his interest in reading Houdas’s book on Islam. This document is fully in line with Hanotaux’s intellectual and political concerns regarding colonial issues and relations between France and the Muslim world. It bears witness to the exchanges among scholars, diplomats, and Orientalists in the early 20th century, at a time when knowledge of Islam was of strategic importance in French politics.