15 - BOSTSARRON (A.). Secretary General of Éditions de la Grange-Batelière.

BOSTSARRON (A.). Secretary General of Éditions de la Grange-Batelière. A SIGNED TYPEWRITTEN LETTER to an unidentified correspondent who owned manuscripts by Claude Debussy. Paris, October 18, 1956. 1 page, quarto size, on letterhead of Éditions de la Grange-Batelière, 7 rue Daunou, Paris. Autograph signature in ink. An interesting letter concerning the publication of Claude Debussy’s handwritten documents, notably a letter addressed to Pierre Lalo regarding his opera *Pelléas et Mélisande* and the symphonic poem *La Mer*. Bostsarron recalls that the publisher René Kister had requested permission a few months earlier to photograph several of Debussy’s manuscripts held in his correspondent’s collection, with a view to reproducing them in a book by Émile Vuillermoz dedicated to the composer, intended to inaugurate the “Composers of the 20th Century,” edited by Bernard Gavoty. He now wishes to obtain permission to reproduce an additional document, one of particular interest for the history of the reception of Debussy’s work: “A fragment of a letter written by Debussy to Pierre Lalo in response to criticisms that Lalo had expressed regarding *La Mer*. ” The publisher highlights the progress of the project and requests that space for this document be reserved immediately in the book’s layout. This letter attests to the documentary research undertaken in the mid-20th century on Claude Debussy’s work and correspondence, as well as to the role played by Émile Vuillermoz and Bernard Gavoty in making it accessible to the public. A few creases and signs of handling.