Jacques Guerin 是巴黎香水鉅子, 因被Marcel 弟弟Robert Proust醫師治好大病, 與Robert及其妻相熟, 進而趁弟媳對其遺物的不悅, 收集許多Marcel的手稿, 首版, 傢俱, 個人用品, ....
其中他最珍惜, 是Marcel Proust 生前穿著寫第七冊的那件大衣, 此件大衣連同家具, 都無法割愛而沒有參與1992拍賣, 而是送給了博物館Musee Carnavalet , 送出前, 他割下一塊海軍藍床單鑲起放於床頭, 陪伴他直到2000過世
musee carnavalet
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ou wouldn’t know who he was and no one would hold that against you. In 1992 there was the biggest auction of privately owned first edition books and original manuscripts of French authors held in Paris. This was of course the collection of Jacques. By day Jacques was a prolific and undisputed champion of commercial French Perfume which served mainly to fund his true vocation, which was the obsessive collecting, which you could call protecting of delicate and treasured pieces of literature. This uber collecting gene was apparently always in him, but where my interest was sparked was through a very interesting little book I was recently gifted, called “Proust’s Overcoat”. Guerin like I, was an adoring fan of Marcel Proust and even though he grew up only a decade or so after Proust and knew many of Proust’s contemporaries, he hunted high and low for Marcel paraphernalia. By chance his life took a bad turn which turned out to be a fate of an unprecedented kind for Jacques when struck ill he was rendered and saved by Dr.Robert Proust, son of the great Dr.Adrian Proust and brother of the more famous Marcel. On the occasion, as it was the custom of the time, when Jacques went to pay respects and thanks to Dr.Robert he soon realised who he was and was shown to some of the most incredible relics of Marcel’s life which were guarded by Robert and hated by his wife. Jacques then developed over a lifetime a relationship with Robert and following his death with his wife and unbeknown to Jacques at the time, Robert’s wife’s lover who’s double act as a second hand dealer, played many of Marcel’s original scripts, first editions, personal effects and furniture into Jacques amorous hands.Whilst Jacques was visited by many a collector and institution in regard to the sale of these aforementioned items, plus the horde of others that filled his life, including visits from French politicians like Mitterrand, he was steadfast in his life’s work which was the collection and protection of some of the rarest artifacts of modern French literature. However the item that he felt the most kindred spirit for and held dearest as his most noble attachment, was Marcel Proust’s overcoat, a piece of costume that become synonymous with the author and in turn was mentioned numerous times in his superlative work “In Search of Lost Time”. This along with Marcel’s bedroom furniture were part of Jacques collection he could not part with in 1992 by auction, instead he gifted these to Musee Carnavalet in Paris for all to enjoy, except for the coat which is by appointment only due to its delicate nature. However, in testament to his pedantic clingy brilliance, before they were delivered he cut a small swatch of Marcel’s dark navy bed spread and had it framed, preserved and hung next to his bed for the remaining 8 years of his life until he died in 2000.
So be into Jacques Guerin and those mad collectors out there whose passions and obsessions are bred somewhat further afield than those of us who haven’t the personal fortitude to know exactly what it is we want and hunt it down over the course of a life. Oh, and be into the riveting little read “Proust’s Overcoat”.'
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/pradeep_sebastian/article929486.ece
Family intrigue:作者與普魯斯特的大衣
Lorenza Foschini with the actual overcoat. Photo: courtesy Marco Molendini/Paris Review
Proust's Overcoat - some like it otter
Photograph courtesy of Eric KarpelesHere it is, the literary Turin Shroud: Proust's overcoat. He wore this otter-lined garment in all weathers and used it as a blanket every night while writing in bed.
The photo is to be found in Lorenza Foschini's recently published
Proust's Overcoat: The True Story of One Man's Passion for All Things Proust.
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