ΕΛΙΣΑΒΕΤ - ΞΑΝΘΗ ΛΟΥΜΑΚΗ - ΣΕΝΙΕ (CHENIER) /Bonnieres R.: Lettres Grecques de Madame Chenier (1729-1808) et sa vie. Paris 1879 First edition. In 8vo 19 x 14 cm, contemporary original fine illustrated paper covers preserved. Complete: 200 p. [3]. Text clean and bright,one page with marginal tear, large uncut copy. Overall in very good condition. Ελισάβετ Ξάνθη (Σάντη) Λουμάκη (1729–1808) was a Cypriot intellectual who lived for several years in Constantinople. In 1755 she married the French merchant Louis Chenier and became Madame Chenier. They moved to Paris in 1765, where she became the mother of two famous French poets. Her literary salon in Paris during the late 18th century became the center of Philhellenism and the place where the plans for the famous secret organization Hotel Hellenophone (Ελληνόγλωσσο Ξενοδοχείο) for the cultural regeneration of the Greeks and their revolution against the Turks were initiated. Her Greek letters remained in manuscript and were only published in 1879, together with her biography by Bonnieres. They include the famous letters on Greek folk dances, containing the earliest known reference to the Hassapiko (Χασάπικο) dance, as well as letters on funeral traditions in Greece and many other letters exchanged between Loumaki-Chenier and leading French literary personalities of her time, such as Guys. First edition of the letters of a leading Cypriot personality of the 18th century. In the old town of Nicosia, Cyprus, a street is dedicated to her (Ξάνθης Ξενιέρου, reflecting the Hellenized form of the surname Chenier). References: Not in Atabey, Blackmer, or any other known collection