92 - Konstantin Dmitrievich BALMONT, also known as Don (1867–1942)

Konstantin Dmitrievich BALMONT, also known as Don (1867–1942) Lot consisting of 1 autograph letter and 1 autograph postcard, in Russian, addressed to Jurgis Kasimirovich BALTRUCHAITIS: -Autograph letter dated February 12, 1905, mostly in verse. That year, Balmont had left for Mexico with his mistress Elena K. Tsvetovskaya, but still loved his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna. He seems to be trying to explain himself to his friend. "Dear Jurgis, dear brother, Is it you who reproaches me, Is it you who rejects me? For what cannot be taken back? This friendship, this gaze, Where I saw no reproach, Where, in the possibility of a hint, My heart imagined boundless space. Is it you, my brother, is it you, is it you Who will count this feeling as a sin against me? Together we wove In the tender, golden song Of words, verses, rays, and solace! (...) My dear brother, in a swift change, The horizon has shifted. I have long been—like spray upon me— You sent your reproach to Elena, Your Balmont is innocent. You sent your reproach to the distant Katerina, dear to me, That strange black-eyed one, Who, across the vast Atlantic, Appears to me in my dreams. (...)" -C.A.S., dated April 25, 1907, “Jurgis, you rascal, where on earth have you gone?”, in which he announces that he is fleeing Paris for Barcelona; on the front is an autographed, unpublished poem by J.K. Baltruchaïtis (1873–1944) titled “Under the Bright Sun of Barcelona.” MC Provenance -Jurgis Kasimirovitch Baltruchaïtis (1873–1944), Lithuanian diplomat and poet. -Their son, Jurgis Jurgissovitch Baltruchaïtis (1903–1988), historian. -His wife, Hélène Baltruchaïtis (1908–2004), née Castel-Focillon, daughter of Henri Focillon (1881–1943). -Then by descent.