62A

Radium discoverer seeks meeting with the Radium Dancer

Marie Curie

Autograph Note Signed, "M. Curie,"

to American dancer Loïe Fuller ("Dear friend"), in French: "I can't be here, I'd like to have lunch with you tomorrow, tell me where to find you." Addressed in holograph on verso ("Miss Loïe Fuller"). 1 page, 12mo; collector's stamp in red ink at lower left recto ("HL"), moderate marginal discoloration from prior matting, horizontal fold, remnants of hinging at upper edge verso.

Np, nd.

  • Notes: In 1902, Loïe Fuller was developing a dance whose costume she wanted to glow in the dark. Supposing she might achieve the effect by incorporating radium into the costume's fabric, she wrote to Marie Curie for advice on how to proceed, but Curie discouraged her because of the extreme cost and danger. Curie and Fuller nevertheless helped Fuller to find more appropriate ways to produce the desired effect, becoming friends in the process, and in 1904, Fuller and her troupe performed Radium Dance in Paris, London, and New York.
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November 6, 2025 12:00 PM EST
New York, NY, US

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