HOWE, Samuel Gridley Lettre autographe signée au marquis de Lafayette Boston, 27 janvier 1834 2 pp. in-4
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REMARQUABLE LETTRE DE SAMUEL GRIDLEY HOWE, “THE LAFAYETTE OF GREECE" : À PROPOS DE CHATEAUBRIAND, D’UNE ÉVENTUELLE TRADUCTION DE SES OEUVRES AUX U.S.A., ET DE L’INSTITUTION POUR LES AVEUGLES DE BOSTON “I take the liberty to enclose a letter to Monsieur de Chateaubriand which I beg you to forward to his address. I propose to publish here an account of his life and some translations of his works, if he should give his consents and it may be that he will make some inquiries of you respecting my charachter. Will you do me the favor of saying to him all that you can to induce him to comply with my request : for I really believe such a book may be made a valuable addition to our national literature. I am at present directing the Institution for the education of the blind in this city which flourish bravely ; it is well endorsed with funds, has a splendid building, and grounds : and contains nearly forty happy inmates ; although it has one year since it commenced operations. Such success speaks volumes (...) Can you favour me by forwarding the accompanying volume to Mons. de Chateaubriand ?" Samuel Gridley Howe (1801-1876) was tought in Boston and at Brown University where he graduated in 1821. He then attended Harvard Medical School, taking his degree in 1824. He was fired by enthusiasm for the Greek Revolution and the example of Lord Byron. After an unhappy love affair he sailed for Greece and joined the Greek army. He won there the title “the Lafayette of the Greek Revolution." He wrote an account of the revolt, Historical Sketch of the Greek Revolution, which was published in 1828 and this may be the book that he sent to Chateaubriand via Lafayette. After leaving Greece, Howe continued his medical studies in Paris ; he took part in the July Revolution. In 1831 he returned to the United States and created a school for the blind in Boston as he had learned of a similar school founded in Paris by Valentin Haüy. He gradually developed what became the noted Perkins Institution. Howe originated many improvements in teaching methods, as well as in the process of printing books in Braille. Regarding this peculiar echo of a potential translation and publication of Chateaubriand in America, one should say that Atala was first published in the U.S. in 1802 (Boston), The Martyrs in 1812, Travels in Greece in 1813, Mémoires d’outre-tombe in 1848-1849 (2 volumes). The Essais sur la littérature anglaise were immediately translated in English and titled Sketches on english literature (1836) ; The Congress of Verona was published in 1838. The first complete English translation of the Mémoires d’outre-tombe is dated 1902. RÉFÉRENCE : Chateaubriand en Amérique. Essai de bibliographie, cf. Toronto University, https ://archive.org/details/chateaubriandena00npuoft
