Description
Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) worked as a typefounder, printer, and editor before achieving fame as a writer with "Le Dernier chouan" in 1829. The creator of the realistic novel, he is considered France's greatest novelist.
Provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Inscriptions
[Signature] Bottom center: David; [Date] Bottom center: 1843; [Inscription] On left: Balzac; [Inscription] On obverse: FUMIÈRE / ET CIE SUCRS - THIEBAUT FRES / PARIS
Credit
Acquired by Henry Walters
