TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, HENRI DE. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED TO GUSTAVE GEFFROY, 1893

Autograph letter signed ("T-Lautrec"), in French, 3 pages on bifolium (7 x 4 3/8 in.; 177 x 111 mm), (Paris, 26 October 1893), to Gustave Geffroy; autograph envelope.

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A rendez-vous with Suzanne Valadon and Gustave Geffroy. In this letter to journalist and critic Gustave Geffroy (1855–1926), Toulouse-Lautrec reminds Geffroy that they are meeting painter and artists' model Suzanne Valadon (1865–1938) at the art dealer Goupil & Cie. on the afternoon of the following Tuesday. He proposes that they then go to the large billiard room at the Grand Café (presumably the Grand Café Parisien in the Blvd. Saint-Martin, celebrated for its vast billiard room). The year after this letter was written, Lautrec and Geffroy published their celebrated Yvette Guilbert, a portfolio of sixteen lithographs with text by Geffroy. Valadon posed often for Lautrec and is the subject of some of his finest paintings and lithographs. She was a fine (if somewhat neglected) painter in her own right and was also the mother of painter Maurice Utrillo.