Alexandre DUMAS Père

First edition of this theatre programme for Jean-Paul Sartre's adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's Kean, staged at the Théâtre Marigny in 1988, directed by Robert Hossein and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo in the title role.

A fine copy. Illustrated throughout.

Boldly signed by Jean-Paul Belmondo in black felt-tip pen on the cover.

Autograph letter signed by Roger de Beauvoir. One page in black ink on a bifolium of blue paper.
Discrete folds inherent to the mailing.
The writer and chronicler is preparing his Mémoires de Mademoiselle Mars, the immense actress who counted among his intimates. In this letter he invites his correspondent to go to the actress's residence with Alexandre Dumas to study her correspondence.

"Mon cher ami,
Hier soir à cinq heures j'ai appris une nouvelle si triste qu'elle a influé subitement sur ma santé ; j'ai combattu vainement cette impression, on m'a tant tourné le sang que je viens d'app

A rare Belgian pirate edition in 8 tomes bound in 4, published shortly after the novel's first serial appearance in the Journal des débats from August 28, 1844 to January 15, 1846. Complete with all half titles and title pages. They are all dated 1845, except for the last two (vol. 7-8) dated 1846. The edition includes the misprint "Christo" for "Cristo", present in the pre-first edition of the Journal des débats, and corrected for the first time at the end of 1846 in the first illustrated edition.

Contem­porary brown half shagreen, spine ruled in gilt, gilt titles and volumes, brown marbled paper boards, marbled edg­es. Spines uniformly lightened, rubbed corners and edges with

« Chère amoi [sic]
Ton ami arrivé moulu brisé de deux nuits de voitures et de chemins de fer. Il t'attend demain soir mardi. Oh ce sera avec grand bonheur qu'il s'assurera que toutes choses sont dans l'état où il les a laissées
a toi »

First 12^o edition published a year after the very rare first edition.
Light dampstains to the joins of the volumes, a small hole at foot of a joint on the first volume, slight rubbing to the spines, an upper corner of volume 1 rubbed, small part of leather lacking and a hole to a joint of the third volume.

Bound in half bronze sheep, smooth spines framed in gilt and cold-stamped fillets, modern black morocco title labels and volume labels, marbled paper boards, spotted edges, contemporary bindings.

Provenance: from the library of Michel Marie de Pomereu with his engraved bookplates pasted on the pastedowns.

Original carte-de-visite portrait signed and inscribed by Alexandre Dumas.
Albumen print photograph on mount. Stamp of Charles Reutlinger's studio in Paris on verso.

Very fine portrait signed and inscribed on the lower part of the mount: "A Ma­dame aimée Persat, A. Dumas".

Probably gifted to the second wife of Maurice Persat, an officer who took part in the Napoleonic Wars as well as Independence upris­ings in Latin America, Spain and Greece, where he bought back a young Turkish slave, Adélé. Back in France, she was placed in a convent under the protec­tion of the governor of Marseille and converted to Catholicism. Persat, a lib­eral and agitator,

First edition of each volume.
Publisher’s full burgundy cloth bindings, flat spines, blue endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved for the second volume, front cover preserved for the first volume, gilt top edges.
Minor discoloration spots on the boards.
The first volume includes 75 biographies of notable figures of the time (each featuring a facsimile autograph and a wood-engraved portrait by Brauer), including Paul Arène, Léon Cladel, Coquelin ainé, Charles Gounod, Frédéric Mistral, Albert Robida, Octave Uzanne...
The second volume contains 76 biographies (each with a facsimile autograph and a wood-engraved portrait by Brauer) of figures such as Auguste Barthold

Rare first edition.
Signed autograph inscription by Alexandre Dumas on the half-title, the only leaf left untrimmed by the binder so as to preserve the full dedication.
Several political texts are bound together with it: L'indépendance de la magistrature - Affaire Séguier; Articles publiés dans le journal La Presse et lettres diverses by Emile Ollivier; L'Empire parlementaire est-il possible by Gustave Chaudey; Les décrets du 22 janvier 1852 by M. Reverchon; Défense du droit de propriété by M. Degouve Denuncques; Qu'est-ce donc que la commune?
Half red shagreen binding, smooth spine tooled with gilt fillets, dotted lines, rolls and fleurons, broad black fillets,

First 12° edition published two years after the very scarce first edition.
Light damp stains to the joints of the volumes, a small hole at the foot of spine of first volume, light rubbing to the spine, one upper corner of first volume dulled.
Half roan binding, smooth spines framed in gilt and blind, modern black morocco title-labels, marbled paper boards, speckled edges, contemporary bindings.

Provenance: library of Michel Marie de Pomereu, with his engraved bookplates pasted on the flyleaves.