SEGALEN Victor (1878-1919) - Lot 6

SEGALEN Victor (1878-1919) L.A.S. to Yvon Segalen, "Peking" and Tientsin July 16 and 19, 1917. 4 pp. in-4. Begins his letter with his purchases of stamps for Yvon's collection, a Chinese stamp written in Russian, etc. A few days ago, you would have seen a curious spectacle: the Chinese fighting among themselves for several hours, with rifles, machine guns and cannons, without much result. [ ] The Chinese army is really quite miserable. [The only serious armies we can count on are the French, [ ] the British [ ] the Japanese [ ] and the Germans, who are solid but retreating. As for the Americans, they're very good people, full of money, sport, health and generosity. We'll see what they can do in the trenches"; On July 19, he announces a visit to France, "You may see Tcheou mofou and Ma [ ]". He goes on to talk about his imminent return, in "three thousand six hundred and ninety-four times and a half dodo, I'll be there". Unpublished letters, family provenance.