Nathan Chaïkin Correspondence

All documents are original, typewritten on A4 paper, and composed in French unless otherwise noted.

 
1.) Nathan Chaïkin, Letter to Monique Geiger (Curator of the Musée de Beaux Arts, Dijon). Mon. May 2, 1983. 1 page single-sided. Typewritten & signed.

 
Chaïkin discusses his Nanteuil project and possible leads that Geiger may have, and passes along to her an inquiry from Jack Hillier (see Letter #5) concerning Geiger's collection of Japanese prints.

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2.) Nathan Chaïkin, Letter to Monique Sévin (Librarian Bibliothèque Doucet, Paris). Mon. May 5, 1983. 1 page single-sided. Typewritten & signed.

  

Chaïkin announces the commencement of his new project (the publication of this folio), communicates the results of a research visit to the Museum in Dijon and its director Monique Geiger, requests related material from the Doucet library, and asks that she order copies of material from other libraries. He is specifically trying to track down a copy of Nanteuil's Gargantua, of which he/Gavault had the drawing but not the final print; he eventually located a better original copy than that now housed in the Revenant Archive (see the comparison in fascicule 2 of the folio). 

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3.) Monique Sévin, Letter to Nathan Chaïkin. May [9?], 1983. 1 page single-sided. Handwritten & signed.

Séverin sends photocopies of Nanteuil research material requested by Chaïkin and communicates difficulties in tracking down other materials.

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4.) Nathan Chaïkin, Letter to Monique [Geiger?]. Mon. May 25, 1983. 1 page single-sided. Typewritten & signed.

Chaïkin thanks his correspondent for forwarding an article on Goya and Nanteuil, broadens his search for the Gargantua print (see letter #2) and other material, relates his research into Gavault, who assembled this collection of prints, and describes fitting his research around his international performing itinerary. The letter is rather more personal than some; Chaïkin reminisces about past memories with his correspondent and explains his interest in Nanteuil, which is based "not only for the work itself, but above all for the artist's moral 'quality'. A great nobility of spirit and inexpressible purity."

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5.) Jack Hillier, Letter to Nathan Chaïkin. Undated [c.1983]. 1 page single-sided. Typewritten.

Chaïkin's regular correspondent, the American collector Hillier, congratulates Chaïkin on the quality of the latter's new book on printmaking and the Sino-Japanese War, and encloses Hillier's review of the book (see his review HERE).

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6.) Nathan Chaïkin, Letter to Monique Sévin (Librarian Bibliothèque Doucet, Paris). Mon. Feb 29, 1984. 1 page single-sided. Typewritten & signed.

Chaïkin thanks Sévin for her continual support of his research, and discusses some of the favourable responses to the Nanteuil folio he has received from various art historians, curators, and collectors. He describes its physical form, and discusses his collaboration with the lithographic studio which printed it (as well as the exorbitant cost of shipping due to its bulk). He presents a copy to the Bibliothèque Doucet and mentions several other institutional donations (including one in the US, presumably the museum in either Cleveland or St. Louis, the only two possessing a copy today). He discusses his plans for his Nanteuil collection to be sold after his death, with the proceeds to be donated to Catholic orphanages (He provides more detail in Letter #9.).

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7.) Jack Hillier, Letter to Nathan Chaïkin. March 2, 1984. 1 page single-sided. Typewritten in English.

 Hillier (see letter #5 and his review of Chaïkin's previous publication) congratulates Chaïkin on the Nanteuil folio, describes his reactions and the connections he drew upon this, his first exposure to Nanteuil's work. This is Hillier's only letter in English, his native language.

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8.) Marcel Roethlisberger (University of Geneva), Letter to Nathan Chaïkin. March 6, 1984. 2 pages. Typewritten in English.

The art historian Marcel Roethlisberger expresses his enthusiasm for Chaïkin's Nanteuil folio and his research and essay in the accompanying book. He praises Nanteuil's work, surprised that "as with all the world I think, Nanteuil has been for me absolutely nothing but a name, vaguely heard of, without being known," and compares it to Daumier, Doré, and Millet. Roethlisberger suggests that Chaïkin consider mounting an exhibition of the collection to more broadly spread awareness of his work. (I am unaware that such an exhibition ever came about, though the Dijon Museum of Arts, which Nanteuil had once directed, had mounted a Nanteuil exhibition in 1973 and mounted another in 2013.)

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9.) Nathan Chaïkin, Letter to Monique Sévin. Tues. March 13, 1984. 1 page single-sided. Typewritten & signed.
 

Chaïkin discusses his reasons for "putting it into orbit" and his thoughts on Nanteuil's personality and humility. He speculates that the death of a generation of lyricists in the 1860s led to a degeneration in French song which in turn hurt Nanteuil's career, tied as it was at that point to producing covers for sheet music. He discusses the provenance of the Gavault collection and his connection to it, then expands upon his hopes for the collection's future (see Letter #6): He notes that he is nearing death at 77 years old, and wishes his collection sold after his death to either a museum or private collector, with part of its proceeds to be donated directly to charities for the poor, the remainder to establish a foundation for Gregorian chant. (I have not ascertained the collection's fate)