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Finding aid for the Vizetelly and Company letters and documents, 1785, 1838-1854
860111
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Title: Vizetelly and Company (1850-1855) letters and documents
Date (inclusive): 1785-1854 (bulk 1838-1854)
Number: 860111
Creator/Collector:
Vizetelly and Company (1850-1855)
Physical Description:
108.0 items
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
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 is in
French
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.
Open for use by qualified researchers.
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Vizetelly and Company letters and documents, 1785, 1838-1854, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 860111.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa860111
Acquired at auction in 1986.
Archive formerly owned by Sir Thomas Phillips.
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.
Organized in 2 bound volumes, described in the order within each volume.
Béthune, Max
Callery, J.- M. (Joseph-Marie), 1810-1862
Curmer, L. (Henri Léon), 1801-1870
Français, Louis, 1814-1897
Golovin, Ivan, b. 1816
Hetzel, Pierre-Jules, 1814-1886
Lamartine, Alphonse de, 1790-1869
Masson, Victor
Pagnerre, 1805-1854
Philipon, Charles, 1800-1862
Plon, Henri
Vizetelly, Henry, 1820-1894
Vizetelly, James Thomas, 1817-1897
Yvan, Melchior, 1803-1873
Vizetelly & Co. (1880-1889)
Vizetelly and Company (1850-1855)
Vizetelly Brothers & Co.
Authors and publishers--England
Authors and publishers--France
Copyright--France
Copyright--Great Britain
Editors--France--Correspondence
Engraving--19th century
Illustration of books--19th century
Illustrators--France--Correspondence
Literary agents--France--Correspondence
Printing ink industry--Great Britain
Printing ink--Great Britain
Printing machinery and supplies--Great Britain
Printing--Great Britain--History
Prints--Technique
Publishers and publishing--France
Publishers and publishing--Great Britain
Wood-engravers--England--Correspondence
Wood-engravers--France--Correspondence
Wood-engraving, French
Correspondence
Callery, J.- M. (Joseph-Marie), 1810-1862
Curmer, L. (Henri Léon), 1801-1870
Français, Louis, 1814-1897
Imprimerie de Béthune & Plon
Pagnerre (Firm)
Pagnerre, 1805-1854
Plon, Henri
Vizetelly Brothers & Co.
Vizetelly, James Thomas, 1817-1897
Yvan, Melchior, 1803-1873