Honoré de Balzac, Autograph letter signed. May... Lot 180

Honoré de Balzac, Autograph letter signed. [May 1834], 2p in-8. To Louis-Gabriel Michaud (1773-1848) : "My friend Monsieur Parisot has been kind enough to arrange with you, who has kindly agreed to do so, the exchange of a g[ran]d paper copy of the Biographie for an exempl[aire] of the Bulletin des lois, and as there is no equipollence of price, I would pay you a balance by making an article in the supplement of the Biographie [...] M. Parisot will tell you that my favorite article would be that of Doctor Gall, and if we discover anything in the supplement, I will give you the article of Doctor Gall. Parisot will tell you that my favorite article would be Doctor Gall's, and if we discover something in the C that suits me, I'll free myself more quickly. [...]". The Michaud Biography, an immense work of compilation for which Balzac wrote a few notes and which he read, he said, "like Bayle counting roof tiles". Louis Gabriel Michaud (1773-1848) was director of the Imprimerie Royale and "publisher, owner and principal editor of the Biographie Universelle. The 1st edition of this work, published in 52 volumes by Michaud frères from 1811, then, from 1821 to 1828, by L.-G.Michaud, was augmented in 1832-1833 by a two-volume Mythological Part reviewed by Balzac (see letter 33-111, n.1); an alphabetical supplement began appearing in 1834 and was completed in 1862 (t.LVI-LXXXV). A 2nd edition, in 45 volumes, appeared between 1854 and 1865. Relations between Balzac and Michaud seem to have begun with this first letter. (Correspondance, I, n°34-44).