Bidspirit auction | [VARIOUS AUTOGRAPHS, LETTERS, & DOCUMENTS]

[VARIOUS AUTOGRAPHS, LETTERS, & DOCUMENTS] - VITTORIO ALFIERI (1749–1803) - Autograph Letter Signed to his sister Giulia Cumiana - VITTORIO ALFIERI (1749–1803) “I want nothing from anyone” Autograph Letter Signed to his sister Giulia Cumiana. Villa Santini, Montughi (Florence), 22 April 1799. Autograph manuscript in brown ink on one bifolium (200 × 250 mm), one page written, integral address on verso to Giulia Cumiana Alfieri in Turin, traces of red wax seal, paper bearing the watermark “Chez M. Lensi J. A. Séné”. An exceptionally well-preserved manuscript. An outstanding and largely unpublished autograph letter written in the wake of the French occupation of Florence, preserving the complete text of a document long known only through incomplete nineteenth-century editions. The letter is one of the most important surviving private manuscripts by Vittorio Alfieri. Emilio Bertana published only the opening portion of the text in 1902, a partial transcription subsequently repeated in later editions of the correspondence. The present autograph restores the complete text, corrects the date to 22 April 1799 (misread as 2 April in earlier editions), and preserves passages omitted from the printed tradition. Penned while Alfieri had withdrawn to Villa Santini at Montughi after the French occupation of Florence, the letter combines family matters with reflections on political independence. Referring to recommendations obtained through his sister, Alfieri firmly declares: “non voglio nulla da nessuno; e nessuno vuol niente da me.” (“I want nothing from anyone; and no one wants anything from me.”) Alongside its political significance, the manuscript offers a remarkable portrait of Alfieri's private life. It contains affectionate words to his sister Giulia Cumiana, references to Tommaso Valperga di Caluso, discussion of financial affairs, and concludes with a touching mention of “mia Compagna”, the Countess of Albany, the central companion of the poet's final years. The manuscript is of exceptional textual, historical and biographical importance. It not only restores a substantially unpublished text but also documents Alfieri's unwavering ideal of personal liberty during one of the most turbulent moments in Italian history. Complete autograph letters of this quality are of the greatest rarity on the market and are rightly regarded among the finest literary manuscripts of eighteenth-century Italy. References: Emilio Bertana, Vittorio Alfieri studiato nel pensiero, nella vita e nell'arte, Turin, 1902; V. Alfieri, Epistolario, ed. L. Caretti, Asti, Casa d'Alfieri, vol. III, pp. 18–19.