“The Best Parisian Engraver”: Two Newly Found Letters by Ivan Turgenev to Edmond Hédouin

In late 1869, the newspaper Moskovskie vedomosti announced a new edition of the collected writings of Ivan Turgenev by the publishing house of the Salaev brothers. The first volume of the edition contained “a portrait of the author engraved on steel by Hédouin, the best Parisian engraver.” What is the provenance of this portrait? Until now, only one letter addressed by Ivan Turgenev to Edmond Hédouin (1820–1889) has been known. The authors of this article identified two more letters. One of them was recently put up for auction at Sotheby’s, while the other was found in the Department of Special Collections and Archives of Bowdoin College Library (USA). The article presents the first publication of these letters. The newly found letters allowed the authors to clarify many issues, including Ivan Turgenev’s contacts with Maxime Du Camp and the Salaev brothers.