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INVENTORY OF THE VIZETELLY AND COMPANY (1850-1855) LETTERS AND
DOCUMENTS, 1785, 1838-1854
860111
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Title: Vizetelly and Company (1850-1855) letters and documents
Date (inclusive): 1785-1854
Date (bulk): 1838-1854
Collection number: 860111
Creator:
Vizetelly and Company (1850-1855)
Extent:
108 items
Repository:
Getty Research Institute
Research Library
Special Collections and Visual Resources
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90040-1688
Abstract: Collection comprising 103 letters sent to James Vizetelly and his company of printers and engravers by ca. 40 correspondents
between 1838 and 1854. Most of the letters are in French, from French editors, and printers, and prominent publishers, including
Béthune et Plon, Pagnerre Éditeur, Melchior Yvan, and L. Curmer. They reflect Vizetelly & Co.'s involvement in the growing
demand for illustrated French and "exotic" literature.
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Language: Collection material in French
Open for use by qualified researchers.
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Library Rights and Reproductions
Vizetelly and Company letters and documents, 1785, 1838-1854, Getty
Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 860111.
Acquired at auction in 1986.
Archive formerly owned by Sir Thomas Phillips.
The Vizetelly London firm of printers, engravers and publishers was
active under various names from ca. 1827-1890. Founded by James Henry Vizetelly
with various associates, the firm was reorganized at his death in 1838, by the
eldest son James, with his younger brother Henry as associate. In 1849 the firm
went into liquidation, the brothers setting up separate businesses. James
Vizetelly’s firm remained active until 1855 under the name of Vizetelly and
Company (at 135 Fleet Street). The name Vizetelly was successfully
continued in the printing business of James’s brother Henry. Henry Vizetelly's firm
ended unfortunately in 1889 when the publication of several novels by the French
writer Émile Zola brought Henry to the Criminal Court. He was
condemned under the Obscene Libel Act to three months in prison.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection comprises letters and some accounts sent to James
Vizetelly by ca. 40 correspondents over 14 years, between February 1838 and
January 1854. Most of the letters are from 1840-1842 (36 items) and 1851-1853
(47 items). There are no letters from the years 1848-1850. Except for three
letters in English, all items are in French. The collection includes a draft of
a letter by Vizetelly to the Parisian publisher Pagnerre from 1852. Also
included are four unrelated documents: a public announcement signed Étienne
Mehrel, asking for a loan for his invention; the transcription of a letter from
1641 by the French courtesan Marion de Lorme; the transcript of a judicial
settlement of a French nobleman’s estate from 1785; and a request from an
English traveler in Paris looking for families offering room and board.
Most of the letters are from business partners or collaborators. They
reflect James Vizetelly’s involvement in the growing demand for illustrated
books from French and exotic literature, in genres ranging from fairy tales
to romantic and historical novels, handbooks for fashionable hobbies, and
treatises. Vizetelly’s partners are among the leading Parisian publishers and
editors, such as Béthune et Plon, Pagnerre Éditeur, Melchior Yvan, and Léon
Curmer. A number of letters are from draftsmen and engravers about their work
(always belated) or requesting payment (always delayed and often reduced). The
correspondence communicates the tension involved in the creation of each book,
often simultaneously in its original version in Paris and its translation in
London. Also relevant for this period is a letter from a printing machine
producer in Brussels about the new and faster machine he has invented and
licensed that prints both text and engravings on both sides of a sheet of paper
simultaneously.
The collection, formerly owned by Sir Thomas Phillips, comprises 108
items totaling 217 pages. The items were bound in two volumes at Sir Thomas
Phillips’ Middle Hill bindery, seemingly by size: vol. I in 8vo and vol. II in
4to. Three letters are detached and filed separately in a folder. All items
have been numbered (1-108) to facilitate access, as there is no apparent order
within the volumes. The information supplied by the cataloger is enclosed in square
brackets.
Arrangement
Organized in 2 bound volumes, described in the order within
each volume.
Béthune, Max—Correspondence
Callery, J.- M.
(Joseph-Marie), 1810-1862—Correspondence
Curmer, L. (Henri Léon),
1801-1870—Correspondence
Français, Louis, 1814-1897—Correspondence
Golovin, Ivan, b. 1816—Correspondence
Hetzel, Pierre-Jules, 1814-1886—Correspondence
Lamartine, Alphonse de,
1790-1869
Masson, Victor—Correspondence
Pagnerre, 1805-1854—Correspondence
Philipon, Charles, 1800-1862—Correspondence
Plon, H. M., fl.
1839-1842—Correspondence
Vizetelly, James,
1817-1897—Correspondence
Vizetelly, Henry,
1820-1894
Yvan, Melchior, 1803-1873—Correspondence
Vizetelly Brothers &
Co.
Vizetelly and
Company (1850-1855)
Vizetelly &
Co. (1880-1889)
Authors and publishers—France
Authors and publishers—England
Copyright—France
Copyright—Great Britain
Editors—France—Correspondence
Engraving—19th
century
Illustration of books—19th century
Illustrators—France—Correspondence
Literary agents—France—Correspondence
Printing—Great Britain—History
Printing ink—Great Britain
Printing ink industry—Great Britain
Printing machinery and
supplies—Great Britain
Prints—Technique
Publishers and publishing—France
Publishers and publishing—Great Britain
Wood-engraving,
French
Wood-engravers—France—Correspondence
Wood-engravers—England—Correspondence
Callery, J.- M.
(Joseph-Marie), 1810-1862
Curmer, L. (Henri Léon),
1801-1870
Français, Louis,
1814-1897
Pagnerre,
1805-1854
Plon, H. M., fl.
1839-1842
Vizetelly, James,
1817-1897
Yvan, Melchior,
1803-1873
Imprimerie de Béthune
& Plon
Pagnerre
éditeur.
Vizetelly and
Company (1850-1855)
Vizetelly Brothers &
Co.