For the founder of Spiritism, Allan Kardec, people who work at the tables are rarer than those who write directly.
- Handwritten letter from Allan Kardec to an unknown recipient.
- One page.
- In French.
- 13.3 cm x 20.7 cm.
- Paris, May 11, 1860.
- Excellent condition of conservation.
- Unique piece.
Paris, May 11, 1860
Sir,
Not being able to give you a written answer as explicit and detailed as the request in your letter, I shall be satisfied to give you verbally whatever explanations you desire, if you will make the effort to come and see me.
I will only tell you, however, that, according to your letter, it seems to me that you are not doing it properly to obtain a result, because people who act at the tables are rarer than those who write directly.
I am always at home on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3 to 5 pm, except holidays.
I have the honor to greet you,
Allan Kardec.
59 rue et passage Saint Anne
Léon Rivail (1804 - 1869) discovered table-turning sessions in 1855 and joined the spiritist circles, quickly becoming one of their most prominent members. He then took the name Allan Kardec, a name he had used in one of his previous lives as a druid. Under this pseudonym, he published the five fundamental books of spiritism, including The Spirits' Book (1857) and The Means' Book (1861). Spiritism grew rapidly to become a true social and philosophical movement with many followers, under the Second Empire in France and still today in Latin America, especially in Brazil.
Kardec's tomb in the Père-Lachaise cemetery remains one of the most flowery and visited in the cemetery and a place of meditation. Many personalities were seduced by spiritism - such as Victor Hugo, Arthur Conan Doyle or Chico Xavier - convinced that spiritism could provide scientific proof of life after death.
To this day, Allan Kardec is one of the most widely read French authors in Brazil, with over thirty million books sold. More than six million Brazilians have declared themselves to be Spiritists and have implemented Kardec's doctrine in thousands of Spiritist centers. Major Brazilian cities have an Allan Kardec Street and often several, such as São Paulo, which has six, as well as an Allan Kardec College. Several Brazilian elementary schools are also named after the founder of the Spiritist doctrine. Brazilian deputies have dedicated meetings of the National Assembly to Allan Kardec and his work.
Handwritten letters from Kardec are very rare and, even more so, sought after. This one is particularly valuable because the author speaks of his main authority, Spiritism, with this singular phrase: "people who work at the tables are rarer than those who write directly" . Furthermore, it was written in 1860, in the years in which he wrote his main books. Finally, the letter was written in his most famous residence, in Paris, 59 rue Saint Anne, and has come down to us in perfect condition.
