Series of 5 letters from Alice Becker-Ho to Francoise Zylberberg, between February 14 and April 6, 1973.

Francoise ZYLBERBERG (1944-2010) was a close collaborator of Rene Vienet and a friend of Debord and Becker-Ho. She is first mentioned by Guy Debord in a letter sent to Gianfranco Sanguinetti from Lisbon on 13 May 1973: “François [Zylberberg] et Raspaud, au moins, avaient écrit il y a plus de trois semaines” (Correspondance Vol.5, p. 53) – nearly a month after the letters reproduced below. On 15 November 1973, she had already fallen out of favor, seemingly due to her ties to René Viénet: “Francoise [Zylberberg] apparaissant de plus comme la dernière compagne du misérable Vient, on préfère ne plus la voir (Viénet pensait manifestement se servir d’elle pour nous approcher de nouveau, ou au moins pour laisser entendre qu’il n’est pas sans relation indirecte avec nous)” (Correspondance Vol.5, p.106). She is last mentioned in a letter to Jacques Le Glou dated 9 [December] 1973: “[Viénet] n’impressione donc qu’une ou deux Zyl[berberg], lesquelles d’ailleurs ne sont même pas convaincues, mais assez pauvres – a tous les sens du terme – pour préférer la misère au néant” (Correspondance Vol. 4, p. 217-218). Later on, in 1979, Zylberberg traveled to Taiwan as an exchange scholar, teaching at the National Taiwan University’s Department of Foreign Languages. She would ultimately settle and become a citizen of that country. Zylberberg went on to open Taiwan’s only French-language bookstore in 1999. She passed away in 2010, at the age of 65.

1. BECKER-HO, Alice. [CORRESPONDENCE] [Zylberberg, Francoise] Signed autograph letter dated 14 February [1973]. n.p. [Florence, Italy]. 1 p.; 16.5 x 22 cm.; black ink on graph white paper. Original envelope; 16 x 11 cm.; black and blue inks on white stock.

Letter from Florence in which Alice-Becker Ho asks Francoise Zyllerberg to visit her and Guy in Florence towards the end of the month of February. She also asks Zyllerberg to bring funds across the border: “Est-ce qu’il te sera possible de venir ici quelques jours autour de la fin du mois (avant ou après). Si tu me confirmes que oui, je t’enverrai un chèque pour que tu apportes ici la dose d’argent qu’on peut passer à chaque voyage ; et qui nous sera bien utile ?” (p.1). Debord and Becker’s Ho address in Florence follows.

2. BECKER-HO, Alice; DEBORD, Guy. [CORRESPONDENCE] [Zylberberg, Francoise] Signed autograph letter dated 21 February [1973]. Florence, Italy. 2 p.; 16.5 x 22 cm.; blue ink on French lined paper. Original envelope; 16 x 11 cm.; black ink on white stock

Letter from Florence in which Alice Becker-Ho includes a check for 5,000 Francs, 3,500 of which should be changed to Lira and 1,000 brought in as French Francs. The balance (500 Francs) ought to be used by Zyllerberg to buy herself a roundtrip ticket. Finally, Becker-Ho asks her friend to bring cheese from Paris as well as French cigarettes: ” 2 camemberts Lanquetot (label rouge) pas trop faits (chez le crémier rue St Martin au coin de la rue Rambuteau), et aussi une cartouche de gauloises”. The letter is signed both “Alice” and “Guy” [Debord].

3. BECKER-HO, Alice. [CORRESPONDENCE] [Zylberberg, Francoise] Signed autograph letter dated 20 March [1973]. Florence, Italy. 3 p.; 14.5 x 20 cm.; black ink on college-lined white paper. Original envelope; 16 x 11 cm.; black ink on white stock

Letter from Florence in which Alice-Becker Ho alludes to the many experiences she and Guy have with younger women: Les filles se succèdent et ne se ressemblent pas. Les Canadiennes, si braves finalement, sont parties pour la Grèce […] Une théâtreuse de passage à Florence avec sa troupe pour une pièce de Brecht qui a laissé sa bague en souvenir. Enfin, Connie, qui occupe la petite chambre et qui reproduit ici, le drame de Milan dont tu as entendu parler à ton arrivée. Quant à la Signorina, on a appris avec l’effroi que tu imagines qu’elle approche des 70 ans! Elle veut me présenter à son amie américaine — je commence à m’inquiéter : quel âge peut-elle avoir, et surtout, dans quel état ? De Céleste — rien. Voilà tous les potins de Florence…”

4. BECKER-HO, Alice; DEBORD, Guy. [CORRESPONDENCE] [Zylberberg, Francoise] Signed autograph letter dated 5 April [1973]. Florence, Italy. 5 p.; 14.5 x 20 cm.; blue ink on college-lined white paper. Original envelope; 16 x 11 cm.; blue ink on white stock

Letter from Florence in which Alice Becker-Ho discusses renovations of Zylberberg’s apartment in Paris, located 4 rue Cherubini in the 2nd arrondissement: “Les petits carreaux de Miron c’est très joli, sauf à mon avis dans les chiottes – manque plus qu’un crucifix au bout de la chaine et on pourrait faire un tableau surréaliste tardif”. She also provides updates about the new cast of young women that Alice, Guy, and Gianfranco [Sanguinetti] are seeing: “Connie a quitté Florence, encadrée par les flics qu’elle avait appelés à son secours contre G[ianfranco] S[anguinetti] qui lui foutait une trempe pour une dernière saloperie digne de la pire des putains”. The letter is signed both “Alice” and “Guy” [Debord].

5. BECKER-HO, Alice; DEBORD, Guy; SANGUINETTI, Gianfranco. [CORRESPONDENCE] [Zylberberg, Francoise] Signed autograph postcard postmarked 6 April 1973. 1 p; 15 x 10 cm.; black ink on white stock.

Postcard from Florence, signed by Alice, Guy [Debord], and Gianfranco [Sanguinetti] that reads as follows: “Vue sur l’Oltrarno (ou soprarno) et sur the maison* dans la rue que tu connais”

[DEBORD, Guy, BECKER-HO, Alice]. [Original photograph of Guy Debord and Alice Becker-Ho]. 24 x 31 cm.; black & white photograph on Agfa stock. [August 1968] This photograph was taken by Marianne Ivsic (a piece of her jacket can be seen on the left-hand side, near Guy Debord) in the Vosges. A reader also alerted us that a different framing of this photograph is reproduced in “Panégyrique, tome second”, and described as “L’Oltrarno en 1972”.

[BECKER-HO, Alice]. [Original photograph of Alice Becker-Ho alone]. 14.5 x 10 cm.; black & white photograph on Agfa stock. [ca. 1973].

[DEBORD, Guy, BECKER-HO, Alice]. [Original photograph of Guy Debord and Alice Becker-Ho]. 14.5 x 10 cm.; black & white photograph on Agfa stock. Ca. 1973.

[DEBORD, Guy, BECKER-HO, Alice]. [Original photograph of Guy Debord, Alice Becker-Ho, and Connie]. 14.5 x 10 cm.; black & white photograph on Agfa stock. 1972.

A reader kindly informs us:

“The trio of photos of Guy and Alice and, as you identify, Francoise Zylberberg, are all from Gianfranco Sanguinetti’s archive at the Beinecke Library, and were all taken in Florence in 1972. The first is taken inside a trattoria in San Frediano, and in the one on the bridge Gianfranco says the woman in the shawl is Connie. The bridge is the Ponte Santa Trinita which leads into the Oltrano in a fairly straight line to the via delle Caldaie, and is the bridge Celeste would cross each night as mentioned in Panegyric“

[BECKER-HO, Alice]. [COPY of a photograph of Alice Becker-Ho as a baby]. 21 x 27 cm.; black & white photograph on Agfa stock. Date unknown [ca. 1942-43]

These photographs were found amidst a small set of letters and postcards mailed by Debord & Becker-Ho to Francoise Zylberberg from Florence. Therefore, it is possible (though not confirmed), these photographs (aside from Becker’s baby picture) were taken there. As usual, any insights from our readers are most welcome

Francoise Zylberberg (1944-2010) was a close collaborator of Rene Vienet and a friend of Debord through the 1970s. She came to Taiwan as an exchange scholar in 1979, teaching at the National Taiwan University’s Department of Foreign Languages. She would ultimately settle a Taiwan and become a citizen. Zylberberg went to open Taiwan’s only French-language bookstore in 1999. She passed away in 2010.