Gabriele d'ANNUNZIO (1863-1938). L.A.S., Paris,... Lot 297

Gabriele d'ANNUNZIO (1863-1938). L.A.S., Paris, Hôtel d'Iéna Sunday [1913?], to a friend; 4pages in-8 with his motto Per non dormire (framed). On the theft of the Mona Lisa. [Vincenzo Peruggia had stolen the painting from the Louvre on August 21, 1911, and it was not recovered until 1913]. On a visit to Paris, he wrote "an account - very curious - entitled L'homme qui a volé la Joconde (The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa). I need to reconstruct the admirable theft on the spot". He would like to obtain permission from the director of the Louvre "to visit the premises (small door, staircase, courtyard, etc.). It's a kind of more or less fantastic novel. The man from the Orsay station came to bring me the painting in the forest of La Teste, near Bordeaux. I'll tell you all about it"...