Description
Berlioz, Hector (1803 – 1869)
An exceptionally rare signed and inscribed portrait photograph by Hector Berlioz.
An 8.25″ X 6.25″ three-quarter length shot of the composer in smart attire, affixed to 10.5″ X 13″ (visible) matte. Very boldly signed beneath the image in fountain pen ink, ‘A mon ami Theodore Ritter, Hector Berlioz, 8 janvier 1866’.
Some patches of age staining to the matte, some of which could likely be removed by a paper restorer, otherwise in fine condition, and displayed in a magnificent period frame — quite likely the frame in which the photograph was gifted by Berlioz to the recipient.
Theodore Ritter (1840 – 1886) was a French composer and pianist. He was famously a pupil of Berlioz, then moved on to Franz Liszt. A superb association piece.
Signed photographs by Berlioz are exceptionally rare. This is the first we have seen in thirty years.