ET CHEZ L'AUTEUR, RUE RICHER, 45. by Sappho: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
This poem — or, more accurately, this fragment — consists of just a single year: 1852.
The poem
1852.
This poem — or, more accurately, this fragment — consists of just a single year: 1852. It looks like a publication imprint or colophon line, similar to the text found at the bottom of a 19th-century French book that tells readers where they could buy copies ("Et chez l'auteur, rue Richer, 45" translates to "And at the author's, 45 rue Richer"). So, what we have here isn't a lyric poem, but rather a bibliographic artifact — a street address and a date, likely from a French edition that credited its contents to Sappho.
Line-by-line
1852.
Tone & mood
There’s no lyrical quality here. The text reads like administrative and commercial paperwork—the straightforward, factual style typical of a 19th-century publishing house. If anything, the tone evokes a sense of quiet historical distance: it simply provides a street address and a year, lingering long after both the building and the bookseller have vanished.
Symbols & metaphors
- 1852 — A publication year that firmly places this text in 19th-century France, reminding us that 'Sappho's poems' have always come to us through various layers of translation, editing, and commercial reproduction.
- Rue Richer, 45 — A street in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It represents the tangible, commercial side of literature—books as items sold at a particular location, rather than just eternal art disconnected from everyday life.
- Et chez l'auteur — The phrase 'and at the author's' suggests a real person selling their own work from home, bridging the gap between the ancient poet and the modern editor or translator—whoever is credited with authorship of this 1852 edition.
Historical context
Sappho was a lyric poet from Lesbos, writing around 600 BCE. Very little of her work has survived from ancient times — we have just one complete poem and a number of fragments, mostly found in quotations from other ancient writers or on papyrus scraps uncovered in Egypt. By the 19th century, European scholars and poets were creating new translations and editions of her fragments, especially in France, where there was a significant Romantic-era interest in classical lyric poetry. This text — "Et chez l'auteur, rue Richer, 45. 1852." — is likely the colophon of one such French edition, indicating a Paris address where the book could be purchased directly from its editor or translator. It's a bibliographic note, not a poem, and it provides insight into the 19th-century reception of Sappho's work as much as it reflects on Sappho herself.
FAQ
No. This is a colophon—a publishing imprint—from a 19th-century French edition of Sappho's work. It includes a street address in Paris and the year 1852. Sappho lived around 600 BCE and wrote in ancient Greek. This line was likely added by a French editor or translator, rather than by Sappho herself.
It's French for 'And at the author's, 45 rue Richer.' This phrase was commonly used in 19th-century French publishing to inform readers that they could purchase the book directly from the author or editor at that Paris address.
Rue Richer is an actual street located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, close to the Grands Boulevards. Back in 1852, it was a bustling area filled with commercial activity.
In 19th-century France, many authors, editors, and translators often sold copies of their own books right from their homes or offices, particularly for smaller or self-published works. This approach eliminated the need for a bookseller, allowing the author to retain a larger share of the profits.
Almost all of them are gone. Ancient sources indicate that she composed nine books of lyric poetry, but only one poem has survived in full. The others remain as fragments—brief passages referenced by other ancient authors, or bits of papyrus. What 19th-century editors published as 'Sappho' was a reconstruction based on these scattered remnants.
It probably made it into a digital or print catalogue of texts attributed to Sappho because it was part of an edition of her work. Automated cataloguing systems often capture every line in a book, including title-page and colophon text, and include it as part of the literary content.
As a historical artifact, it engages with memory and time — the intriguing reality that a Paris street address from 1852 is the last remaining link to someone's attempt to introduce Sappho's ancient voice to contemporary listeners. It also raises questions about art and identity, as the issue of who 'the author' truly is (Sappho? the translator?) remains genuinely unresolved.