PIERRE-JOSEPH PROUDHON Autograph Letter Signed (ALS) 1861 – Anarchy / War & Peace + PSA LOA
​Item Overview
​Author: Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865) – Renowned French philosopher, economist, and the foundational theorist of Anarchism ("Property is theft!").
​Recipient: Pierre-Jules Hetzel (1814–1886) – Famous 19th-century French publisher (noted for publishing Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac, and Jules Verne).
​Date & Location: April 7, 1861 | Ixelles (Brussels, Belgium, during his exile).
​Work Discussed: His major treatise La Guerre et la Paix (War and Peace), published in 1861.
​Authentication: PSA/DNA Letter of Authenticity (LOA) Included (Cert No. AR06885).
​🌟 Item Highlights & Historical Significance
​This exceptional 3-page autograph letter signed ("P.-J. Proudhon") offers a rare look into the mind of the "Father of Anarchism" as he finishes his influential masterpiece, La Guerre et la Paix.
​Writing from exile in Ixelles (Brussels) to his publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel, Proudhon discusses the final printing details of the book—including page counts, signatures, and proofs. Beyond publication logistics, the letter contains fierce political commentary regarding Napoleon III, the Risorgimento (Italian Unification), and attacks from his contemporary political opponents in journals like Le Siècle and L'Opinion Nationale.
​✒️ Full English Translation of the Letter
​Ixelles, April 7
​My dear Mr. Hetzel,
​This morning, I finished the last two sheets of Volume II, everything is now at the press. The whole work will comprise about 22 sheets, not including the title page and table of contents, making each volume roughly 350 pages, as you requested. There is one chapter with which I am not entirely satisfied; despite this flaw, which is essentially a matter of writing and editing, not substance, I believe you will find, as I do, that the reader's interest is sustained and increases right to the end, and that the outcome is not too unfortunate.
​I am expecting the last proofs tomorrow.
​Mr. Villemain virtually told me that you could add to the end of Volume I not only Chapter IV, Book III (which begins Volume II in the Brussels edition), but even Chapter V. — Mr. Villemain was in a better position than I to judge these matters, since I have no proofs on hand. If you have done what Mr. Villemain recommended, that is fine; if you have not, it will be no great harm either.
​A difference of thirty to forty pages more or less between two volumes is perfectly acceptable. The Belgian edition will run to two thousand copies, which is no misfortune.
​You can now prepare Volume II, and arrange things, it seems to me, to bring out Volume I around the 20th of this month. In any case, if both do not come out before the end of the month, we run the risk of war...
​There is one point on which I might well find myself in agreement with the (Imperial) government, more so than with our pseudo-democrats—that is Italian unity. I have never believed in it, nor could I approve it as a man, as a friend of Italian liberty, or as a revolutionary; and the Imperial government must not like it any more than I do. It is from this angle that the slanders of Le Siècle and L'Opinion Nationale [Cavour’s supporters] are working to ruin me...
​...war, by pushing Napoleon III into a new descent... In 1792, it was one of the Pompadour clique who made war and peace; today, it is a coterie of so-called...
Will this intrigue not be unmasked?
​I wish you a good day,
P.-J. Proudhon
​💎 Key Quotes / Quotable Passages
​On Literary Craft & Writing:
​"I believe you will find, as I do, that the reader's interest is sustained and increases right to the end..."
​On Political Hypocrisy & Italian Unification:
​"There is one point on which I might well find myself in agreement with the government, more so than with our pseudo-democrats—that is Italian unity."
​On Political Intrigue:
​"Will this intrigue not be unmasked?"