PORTIER (Paul). - Lot 253

PORTIER (Paul). Bar-sur-Seine, 1866 – Paris, 1962. French zoologist and marine biologist; collaborated with Charles Richet on the discovery of anaphylaxis. Autograph letter signed “P. Portier,” addressed to “My dear Maurice” [Maurice Emmanuel]. [Paris], October 24, [1907]. 3¼ pages in-8, on letterhead from the Faculty of Sciences—Laboratory of Experimental Physiology. A charming and lively letter combining personal confidences, friendly remarks, and touches of humor, addressed to the composer Maurice Emmanuel. Apologizing for his silence, Portier inquires with concern about his correspondent’s health, referring in particular to his digestive troubles with affectionate familiarity. The letter continues with remarks on Emmanuel’s departure from Sainte-Clotilde—the details of which Portier is unaware of and wishes to have clarified—before discussing his own travels and stays, notably in Bar-sur-Seine and in the mountains. On this occasion, he offers some amusing observations, contrasting the sea and the mountains in terms of their “healing” effects, and humorously correcting a geographical confusion: “Bar is in Burgundy, not in Champagne.” The whole is punctuated by a particularly delightful postscript in which Portier, busy grading high school graduation exams, quips about the task (“What a chore! ”) and mentions the presence in the laboratory of a grandson of César Franck, whose musical talents he mischievously speculates may have developed “at the expense of his other faculties.” A charming document that reveals the scholar’s witty and warm personality, as well as his close ties to the musical and intellectual circles of his time.