[Count d'Orsay; mesmerism] Autograph Letter Signed "d'Orsay" to "Mon Cher Albert" [not identified] advising Albert to attend a seance involving a clairvoyant (Alexis), his controller (Marcillet) & distinguished professor of Medicine, Dr Elliotson.

Count d'Orsay [Alfred Guillaume Gabriel Grimod d'Orsay, comte d'Orsay (1801 1852), French amateur artist, dandy, and man of fashion]

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About this Item

One page, 12mo, bifolium, good condition apart from 1/4in. strip of glue from previous laying down on blank page [4]. In French. "Mon Cher Albert | J'ai recu ce matin un Billet du Dr Elliotson [note below] qui dans ce moment n'a aucun sujet digne d'etre montre a vos Dames. Mais si vous tenez a les Etonner magnetiquement, cela vous coutera 5£. allez chez Mr Marcillet qui demeure Maddox St. No. 5. fixez le jour d'une seance pour voir Alexis [a clairvoyant. See Notes below], dites que vous venez de ma part et vous conviendrez avec moi, que ce garcon bouleverse le monde de fond encomble. Tout a vous | d'Orsay". Translation provided on request.Note: a. Elliotson, John, 1791-1868, distinguished professor of medicine, for example "He was always at the 'leading edge' of his profession: he was one of the first in Britain to use and promote the stethoscope, and one of the first to use acupuncture" [see Wikipedia]; b. [Marcillet] A website on "The Orphic Circle Meets At Craven Cottage" suggest that Elliotson and Marcillet were involved in Spiritualism ("The Orphic Circle Meets At Craven Cottage") as does this letter by d'Orsay. "Alexis was a French boy" -- Alexis was Alexis Didier, the clairvoyant controlled by J.B. Marcillet, whom Dickens first encountered at John Elliotson's (or was it at Craven Cottage?) and subsequently raved of in his correspondence as "the Magnetic Boy". We are clearly seeing here a glimpse of Didier as a child, during his first stint in London in 1844.".

Seller Inventory # 26004

Bibliographic Details

• Title: [Count d'Orsay; mesmerism] Autograph Letter Signed "d'Orsay" to "Mon Cher Albert" [not identified] advising Albert to attend a seance involving a clairvoyant (Alexis), his controller (Marcillet) & distinguished professor of Medicine, Dr Elliotson.
• Publisher: No place or date