James JOYCE.

Lot 1521
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Estimation :
6000 - 8000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 9 750EUR
James JOYCE.
Letter to Gustav Zumsteg. No place [Saint-Gérand-Le-Puy] 31. X. [1]940. Autograph letter signed, 2 pages in-12. (Two holes in the binder.) A moving autograph letter signed by James Joyce, addressed to his Zurich protector Gustav Zumsteg: it was written a few months before his death. A refugee in Saint-Gérand-Le-Puy in the Allier, the writer tried to return to Switzerland, but the formalities for obtaining a residence permit proved long and difficult. He wanted to find his daughter who was interned in the canton of Vaud. Gustav Zumsteg had advised him in his administrative procedures in Switzerland, but the writer's lawyer in Geneva changed his strategy several times without his approval and, after Geneva, now proposes a residence in Zurich - a city, writes Joyce, "where, they say, they don't want me because I'm Jewish"... He immediately wants 200 Swiss francs. I don't have it. He also wants a permit from Mr. R. Brauchbar. Let him get it. [...] I asked for a permit in the canton of Vaud for my sick daughter, since the nursing home is there. I asked to be able to stay there for a while to accommodate her and my grandson, and then to move to Zurich, for which I gave references. When you told me that Zurich was not suitable, I said, well, we will all go to Lausanne. [...] Now it seems that he has changed all his acts and has asked for a permit for Zurich. A city where, they say, they don't want me because I'm Jewish. I find all this perfectly ridiculous; and it contrasts singularly with the answers given to me by the French authorities and by the German authorities on this side of the border. Joyce finally reached Zurich on December 14, 1940, where he died of an operation a month later, on January 13, 1941. Gustav Zumsteg (1915-2005) was the son of Hulda Zumsteg, the owner of the legendary Kronenhalle brewery, which was Joyce's favorite stopover during his stays in Switzerland. At the time of Joyce's letter, Gustav Zumsteg had just taken up a position with the Zurich silk merchant Ludwig Abraham & Co., where he was in charge of the French branch. He was to establish privileged contacts with the great names of French couture. An experienced art collector, he met Yves Saint-Laurent at Christian Dior's funeral in 1957: this meeting was the starting point of a long artistic collaboration and a faithful friendship.
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