Jul 30, 2020 - Sale 2543

Sale 2543 - Lot 30

Price Realized: $ 715
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 2,000
(SCIENTISTS.) PASTEUR, LOUIS. Autograph Letter Signed, "L. Pasteur," to "Mr. Minister," in French, assuring him that Pasteur had clearly communicated to Mr. Dumas that he would not be an obstacle to the succession of Dumas by Mr. [Antoine-Jérôme] Balard, to whom Pasteur owes his position. 1 page, 4to, "Ecole Normale Supérieure" stationery, with integral blank; short closed tear at upper edge, folds, faint soiling at edges. Paris, 31 July 1867

Additional Details

". . . 'If Mr. Balard wants to succeed you,' I told Mr. Dumas, 'it goes without saying that I will pull away from it completely. My affection and gratitude toward him oblige me to do so, no matter what position this determination leaves me in.'
"Indeed, Your Excellency must know that I was assigned [my position] upon my finishing the École Normale, with certification to teach in this school, on Mr. Balard's proposal. . . ."
Antoine Jérôme Balard (1802-1876) was a French chemist who discovered bromine and who was young Pasteur's instructor in chemistry.