Finding Aid for the Pierre Louÿs Collection 1889-1912

Processed by Rebecca Fenning.
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
University of California, Los Angeles
2520 Cimarron Street
Los Angeles, CA 90018
Phone: (323) 731-8529
Fax: (323) 731-8617
Email: rfenning@humnet.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/clarklib/
©2010
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: Pierre Louÿs Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1889-1912
Collection number: MS.2010.001
Creator: Louÿs, Pierre 1870-1925
Extent: 1 box (2.5 linear inches)
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: Manuscripts and drafts of letters written by French writer Pierre Louÿs.
Physical location: Clark Library
Language of Material: Collection materials in French

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Clark Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Pierre Louÿs Collection, MS.2010.001, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Acquisition Information

Clark Library purchase, 2010.

Processing History

Processed by Rebecca Fenning, January 2010

Biography

Pierre Louÿs, born December 10, 1870 in Ghent, Belgium, spent most of his life and career in France. A writer and poet, famous for his treatment of lesbian and Classical themes, some of Louÿs' most famous works include Les chansons de Bilitis and Aphrodite (moeurs antiques).

Scope and Content

Manuscripts and drafts of letters written by French writer Pierre Louÿs. Items include notes on writers and writing, drafts of letters, and a contract drafts for a work to be entitled Le livre ancien. Most items are undated, but fall roughly between the years 1889 and 1912.

Related Material

Other manuscript material by Pierre Louÿs at the Clark Library:
Letter, 1903 Oct. 28 [to unknown literature critic]. ba MS.2006.010.
Aphrodite [proofs], 1896. MS.2008.011.
Letter, 1891 November 29, to Oscar Wilde. Wilde Box 40, Folder 26.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Authors, French--19th century
French poetry--19th century

Genres and Forms

Contracts--France--20th century
Notebooks--France--19th century


Box 1, Folder 1

Notecards on mathematical and scientific subjects, undated

Scope and Content Note

8 pages of notes on multiplication and division, optics and reflection, hydraulics, heat, electricity, mechanics, cosmography and Kepler's laws.
Box 1, Folder 2

Quatrain on "Aphrodite," undated

Box 1, Folder 3

Stylistical study, [October 1889]

Scope and Content Note

A pair of essays describing "la mer vue de le cote, le soir au soleil couchant" from the viewpoints of an ancient Greek and a modern Frenchman. Date written in pencil in a different hand.
Box 1, Folder 4

"La Bataille de Pelleas," undated

Scope and Content Note

Notes commending the talent of Victor Hugo, quoting a line from Hernani.
Box 1, Folder 5

"Fragment du Narcisse," undated

Scope and Content Note

A passage from Paul Valéry's "Fragments du Narcisse."
Box 1, Folder 6

"La femme machine : traduit de l'Italien," undated

Scope and Content Note

Manuscript booklet, with a note in Louÿs' hand that reads "Traduction de la Disputatio perjucunda (1595)."
Box 1, Folder 7

Unbound notes and fragments, undated

Scope and Content Note

A series of unbound notes and fragments, written on uniformly sized paper, treating topics from the Sorbonne to readings on historical subjects, Pierre Corneille and Madame Bovary.
Box 1, Folder 8

Drafts of two letters, undated

Scope and Content Note

Rough drafts of two letters, one written to a M. Bidou concerning Corneille, and another to a huissier (possibly) named Cormier.
Box 1, Folder 9

"Institut Impérial," undated

Scope and Content Note

Bound manuscript booklet in Louÿs' hand, containing a eulogy for a surgeon, Sabatier, headed "Institut Impérial." The cover the the booklet reads "Le Moniteur Universel, No. 215, du samedi 3 août 1811."
Box 1, Folder 10

Newspaper clipping and notes in German, undated

Scope and Content Note

Poem clipped from a newspaper, with notes by Louÿs in German below.
Box 1, Folder 11

Notes on the Veinant sale and Bigarrures, undated

Scope and Content Note

Notes on a 1614 Bigarrures from the "Vente Veinant."
Box 1, Folder 12

Draft contracts for Le livre ancien, ca. 1912

Scope and Content Note

Notes and drafts of a contract between Louÿs, Louis Loviot and M. de Boccard of Fontemoing and Cie., regarding the publication of Le livre ancien.