TAGLIONI, Maria (1833-1891). Ballet dancer.
Autograph Letter Signed ('Marie Taglioni') in French to Mr de Mars, editor of the Revue des Deux Mondes, 2 pages 4to with address-leaf (slightly tattered at the edges). Dated from St Petersburg, 28 [December] / 9 January 1841.
Thanking him for a flattering article about her recent performance in Paris, and expressing her regret that she is unable to accept an invitation to perform there again in the near future as she had already committed herself to Mecklenburg, Milan, London and Stockholm ('... et malheureusement j'aurai si peu de tems entre ces villes, que je ne pourrai pas passer par Paris ...')
 Marie Taglioni was one of the most celebrated ballerinas of her day, famous for causing a scandal by shortening her skirts to show off her pointe work. In 1827 Taglioni left the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre in London to take up a three-year contract in St Petersburg with the Imperial Ballet (now the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet). Her final performance in Russia was given in 1842. It is said that a pair of her pointe shoes were sold for 200 roubles to be cooked, served with a sauce and eaten by a group of balletomanes.
Provenance: from a collection formed by A.M. Broadley in 1903.
[No: 24799]