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- George Sand and the Théâtre de Nohant
Curator of Modern European Collections
George Sand and her private theater
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George Sand lived in her country house at Nohant during the summers, beginning in 1837. There she wrote many of her novels and entertained artists and writers, such as Gustave Flaubert, Balzac, Delacroix, Franz Liszt. Beginning in 1847, she and her son Maurice also wrote and performed plays for their family and friends, as well as marionnette plays. Performances became more and more elaborate, with the participation of family, local friends, visitors and professional actors. Maurice created posters for the productions and invitations were sent out. Performances continued until 1863, when Sand left Nohant for her house in Palaiseau. Special Collections has a nice collection of plays and ephemera from the Théâtre de Nohant, including Maurice's posters, playbills, and watercolor drawings. |
- Théâtre de Nohant: volume of Sand's worksThe plays she wrote for the theater.
- Book of watercolors by Maurice SandOf the Théâtre de Nohant stage
Ephemera from the Théâtre in JHU Libraries
- Autograph manuscript of a George Sand playThe catalog record is minimal, but it will get you access to this remarkable manuscript, in Sand's hand, of a theater scenario with 14 scenes of 94 lines and a few corrections and cross overs.
- George Sand letterThe letter is written to René Luguet, a long-time friend of George Sand. It concerns a play to be performed at Nohant which would feature the Luguet children.
- Maurice Sand CollectionConsists of 6 items: a fragment of a story, written by Maurice Sand with corrections by his mother; 4 pages of a manuscript for an untitled puppet show; a stereocard depicting the puppets at Nohant; a blank printed invitation to a puppet show; the manuscript of a puppet show entitled "Le Chateau des Andouillers;" and a manuscript of the play "La Chambre de Madame; out la Chambre Bleu." This manuscript is a complete reworking of the original 1874 playscript. There is also a chalk and watercolor scene design for the curtain.
Original Posters
Posters by Maurice Sand
- A recent purchase includes 9 original posters made by Maurice Sand for his mother's plays that were performed at the Théâtre de Nohant. They date from 1850 to 1862.
- Maurice was tasked with the job of "publicité" for the theater, and he designed and wrote/drew these posters.
- They are part of a larger Maurice Sand Collection.
Related Manuscripts
- Madame Dupin / Inventaire de la cave / Comptes du ménageAn 18th century manuscript book belonging to the great-grandmother of George Sand's husband, containing the author’s reflections on contemporary society, culture, education, the position of women, politics, as well as a detailed picture of her household accounts and domestic economy.
- Autograph letters of Sophie Gay6 letters from Gay written to dramatist Alexandre Guiraud, c. 1822. Sophie Gay was a "salonnière célèbre", novelist, and femme du théâtre, writing plays and participating in theatrical productions of the early 19th century.
Resources in and out of the Library
- George Sanda nice web site in French, with a section on Les Théätres
- Amis de George SandFrench scholarly society
- Popular theater of the 19th centuryAn extensive collection of théätre des boulevards. All of the plays in this collection were performed at the Porte-Saint-Martin, Gâité and Ambigu-Comique theaters. The theaters, which specialized in purely popular entertainment, were located within the Boulevard du Temple region of Paris. See Special Collections staff for more information