Gustave LE GRAY (1820-1884). Alexandre Dumas,... Lot 1

Gustave LE GRAY (1820-1884). Alexandre Dumas, 1857-1865. Albumen print, mounted on card. Photographer's signature in lower left-hand corner of image. Signature of Alexandre Dumas and dedication "À ma très bonne amie, madame la comtesse de Chabrillan" on the print. 35.5 × 26.4 cm. Céleste Vénard - also known by her stage name Céleste Mogador before becoming Comtesse de Chabrillan - is a veritable novel character, so much so that she transcends the social and cultural preconceptions of the mid-19th century. Courtesan, actress, dancer, aristocrat by marriage and writer, in 1857 she published Les voleurs d'or, successfully adapted for the stage by Alexandre Dumas at her request.