775 - ROCHEFORT, Henri. Letter to "Dear Mr. [Léon] Bérardi." No place [August 1868] 2 pp. in-8°, double-leaf of tinted vellum paper (fold marks from mailing with minor tear without loss at the bottom of the page, slight browning on the first leaf, small marginal stains on the second leaf). An interesting letter from the famous pamphleteer regarding the legal proceedings stemming from “La Lanterne,” his satirical newspaper launched in May 1868. Having “suddenly left” Brussels upon hearing of his sentencing, Rochefort thanks Bérardi and his wife for their hospitality and affirms his determination to continue his fight against the imperial regime. Since no Parisian printer was willing to take on the issue of “La Lanterne” published in Brussels, he declares himself ready—"even if I have to buy a press myself"—to print “ten thousand copies, and if it is not seized, I will increase the print run tenfold.” The context places the letter in August 1868, at a time when, facing prosecution for his articles, Rochefort was having “La Lanterne” printed in Brussels. Already sentenced to four months in prison, he had just been handed a new one-year sentence, which he intended to appeal by entrusting his defense to Jules Favre: “I want to make this trial a somewhat high-profile case which, even if it does not result in a reduced sentence, will still serve to unsettle the government.” Ready nonetheless to serve the sixteen months in prison to which his cumulative sentences now amount, he adds: “It’s a lot of wet straw, but I owe this sacrifice to my honor.” He also mentions his children, who are staying with their nanny in Brussels, and proposes to have them taken to the Bérardi family’s home. Ref. BnF (entry on “La Lanterne”). Enclosed: 1. Id. – Autograph letter to [Léon] Bérardi. No place, November 3 [no year]. 7 lines. He asks him to give one hundred francs to “poor Marie Sprimont.” - 2. Mailly, Hippolyte - Satirical portrait of Rochefort. [Paris], Destouches, n.d. 14 x 8.5 cm (slightly foxed). (3 copies)