Lot 37
Zola, Emile
Auction: 16 September 2009 at 12:00 BST
Description
J'accuse! Lettre au président de la République (published in l'Aurore). Paris: l'Aurore, 13 January 1898. Single leaf (610 x 450mm.), framed and glazed to be visible on both sides, slight browning and staining, small tears along one fold
Footnote
Note: First publication of Zola's open letter regarding the Dreyfus Affair. J'accuse has become one of the most famous political tracts in history, blaming the French War Office for a massive cover-up during the trial of Alfred Dreyfus for espionage, in order to protect high-ranking army officers from the consequences of their unjust accusation of Dreyfus. While the article achieved its objective in acquainting the public with the facts of the case, three weeks later Zola was on trial for criminal libel and he then fled to England to avoid imprisonment. Dreyfus was given a retrial in 1899 and again convicted but quickly pardoned. Zola died shortly after, in 1902, amid suspicions of foul play by right-wing extremists. Dreyfus himself was given a full pardon in 1906 and reinstated in the army, although during the ceremony transferring Zola's remains to the Panthéon in 1908, Dreyfus was shot and wounded, and the gunman subsequently acquitted.