[Cuba]. [Literary Manuscripts]

Flores Historicas. Extracto de la Obra Francesa de P. Larousse. Traduccion de A. Almeida. Copia de J.F. Pellon [manuscript title]

Habana: 1884. [2],496 [i.e., 498]pp. Quarto. Contemporary calf, gilt, a.e.g.; rebacked with original spine laid down. Corners repaired with later black buckram; boards scuffed, spine chipped. Hinges cracked, repaired with later cloth and renewed endpapers. Minor scattered foxing and toning to text. Accomplished in a neat, highly legible hand. Good plus. Item #1574

A very attractive manuscript translation into Spanish of Pierre Larousse's well-known work on eminent and historical personages, Fleurs Historiques des Dames et des Gens du Monde, in a contemporary Cuban, gilt goatskin binding. The manuscript connects three figures in the upper social echelons of Cuban society. José Fernandez Pellon, the scribe of this volume, is recorded as the Grand Master of Cuba's freemasons lodge, the Gran Logia Unida de Colón y la Isla de Cuba. The translator, Aurelio Almeida, helped to found the organization in 1875, and at this time served as the Lodge Secretary. The initials E.D. gilt at the foot of the spine and the dedicatory inscription "A Eugenia Desvernine" refer to Eugenia Desvernine y Galdós (b. 1865), daughter of the famous Cuban pianist Pablo Desvernine and Carolina Galdós y Echániz. She was also the niece of Benito Pérez Galdós, the Spanish realist novelist, who some authorities consider only second in stature to Cervantes. A contemporary social register remarks that Eugenia was one of the most beautiful women in Cuba, perhaps an inspiration for the painstaking production of this manuscript.

The original work by Larousse was a loose collection of religious parables, classical myths, biographies of ancient and modern historical figures. The title of the manuscript advises that is an extract, and in the brief introduction, Almeida explains his selection process, writing that, "He suprimido algunos artículos sobre cosas muy sabidas de la historia sagrada; y otros sobre la de Francia, que mencionan frases ó personas casi ninca citadas, ó citades solamente por las escritores francesas." He also notes several alterations and additions, more relevant to Spanish history, saying, "En Cambio, he agregado algunos artículos sobre historia de España, que no están en el original, y he tomado unos pocos de otra obra del mismo Mr. Larousse, y de libros diversos." The result is an original amalgam of biographies, historical episodes, and religious parables. Interestingly, we find no recorded printed editions of Larousse's work in Spanish, so that the present manuscript is also an entirely original work of translation. A fascinating product of the cultural interests and mores of Cuban high society near the end of the Spanish colonial period.

Price: $2,250.00