Paris (France)

Autograph letter dated and signed by Jean-Louis Barrault, addressed to Thierry Maulnier (20 lines in blue ink on a single leaf).
Folding marks from mailing, with a small tear at the foot of the letter.

Autograph note dated and signed by Paul Claudel, one page addressed to Thierry Maulnier (12 lines in blue ink on a single sheet).
Central folds.

Final set of corrected proofs of Henri Calet's most important work: Le Tout sur le tout, 136 leaves in 17 unbound quires, with the "ready for press" manuscript inscription dated June 1, 1948. The pages are numbered from 10 to 271 (and, in pencil, from 9 to 274).

"In 1947, Henri Calet began writing "Aux vingt arrondissements", commissioned by Éditions de Minuit, ultimately published by Gallimard in 1948 under the title "Le Tout sur le tout". On 6 December 1948, Calet received for this book – considered by many to be his best – the first Prix de la Cote d'amour, awarded by an exclusively female jury. It honored a sad and tender narrative of great melancholy, allowing the charm and humor of life to overflow at every moment. The first edition of "Le Tout sur le tout" bears a colophon dated June 17, 1948. The work was released for sale on July 24 of the same year. [...] In addition to a number of manuscript technical instructions by Jacques Festy, production manager at Éditions Gallimard, they contain Calet's final autograph corrections, regular and legible" (J.-P. Baril).

"Through "Le Tout sur le tout", a critical reflection on autobiographical literature is initiated. One moves from an emotionally highly engaged self-writing – explosive, in a way – to an original and subtle genre that blends the detached attitude of Memoirs with the iterative aspect of a logbook. New genre, new language: the seismographic writing of La Belle Lurette gives way to that measured tone, bittersweet, imbued with the delectable nostalgia that constitutes Henri Calet's distinctive charm" (Frédérique Martin-Scherrer)

The most desirable copy and the final stage in the genesis of these "memoirs of a forty-year-old man," his last book and one of his great masterpieces.
Provenance: Jean-Pierre Baril. 

First edition on ordinary paper.

Bradel binding, boards and spine covered in blue decorative paper, flat spine, title label in navy blue morocco bordered with a palladium fillet, title and authors stamped in palladium, original covers preserved with a skillful restoration to the outer margin of the front cover, elegant binding signed by Boichot. 
Precious presentation copy signed by Joseph Kessel on the front free endpaper: "A Charles Maurras qui nous reçut avec tant de touchante bienveillance, hommage de reconnaissante admiration" [To Charles Maurras, who welcomed us with such touching kindness, homage of grateful admiration] also signed and inscribed by Georges Suarez : "au maître qui jeta le trouble dans ma cervelle républicaine" [to the master who stirred up my republican brain].

First edition with no deluxe issue.

A pleasing copy, despite a few very small marginal spots to the boards and minor staining to the edges.

Fine and important signed autograph inscription by Pierre Schoendoerffer: "Pour Maurice Druon et pour Madeleine avec toute mon amitié. C'est un plaisir d'écrire une dédicace pour un ami. PS. : Vous avez vraiment sonnez (sic)de la trompette pour le Crabe. Cela m'a été droit au coeur. Merci."

First edition, one of 647 numbered copies on pur fil paper, the only deluxe copies after 5 on Japan paper, 5 on Holland paper and 109 reimposed.

A handsome copy.

First edition of the French translation, one of 60 numbered copies on pur fil, head of the print run.

Preface by André Gide.

Rare and appealing copy.

New edition.

Minor, inconsequential tears at the head of the spine and along the margins of the covers.

Fine and valuable signed autograph inscription by Marguerite Yourcenar to Georges Bataille : "Au directeur de Critique hommage de l'auteur, Marguerite Yourcenar, "Il y a quelque chose à dire en faveur de l'exception, pourvu qu'elle ne veuille pas se faire passer pour la règle." F. Nietzsche." 

First edition, one of the numbered copies on deluxe paper, the only large-paper issue after 109 reimposed copies.

Fine copy.

First edition, one of 894 numbered copies on pur fil paper, the only deluxe paper issue after 109 reimposed copies.

A fine copy.

Touching autograph note, dated and signed, addressed to his friend, the writer Christiane Baroche, eleven lines in black ink on a Post-it, concerning his wife’s illness and the treatment she is undergoing.

With the accompanying handwritten envelope on which the addressee added the name of her correspondent, Cortázar, in the upper left corner.

"31 (sic)/9/82 Chère Christiane,

un mot pour te remercier de ta carte et tes souhaits concernant Carol. Elle commence un traitement à la cortisone, et j’espère que bientôt il y aura de bons résultats. Merci de nous offrir ta maison, cela fait du bien de savoir qu’il y d’amis si bons. Je t’embrasse. Carol t’embrasse aussi très fort. Julio."

First edition, with no copies issued on deluxe paper.

Backstrip lightly creased, minor corner creases to the covers.

Inscribed, dated, and signed by Marguerite Duras to Yvonne Beaujour.

Autograph letter signed by Robert Schuman to a lady, in black ink on a leaf with printed letterhead of the Assemblée nationale, accompanied by his visiting card.

Small crease to upper right corner of the visiting card.

"I hope that Mr Sauvage's matter will turn out well. As for Mr Jagoszewski, I am making enquiries. I do not know whether the Office has a position of this kind. I will inform you as soon as possible." (our own translation)

First edition on ordinary paper.

A vertical crease along the right margin of the upper cover, which also shows a tiny blemish at the head; a complete copy retaining its publisher’s wraparound band.

Fine presentation inscription signed by Pascal Quignard: "Pour Michel Tournier cette terrasse à Rome, avec mon meilleur souvenir. Pascal Quignard."

First edition, with no deluxe paper issue.

The covers are faintly and marginally toned; a pleasing copy overall.

Moving and precious presentation copy signed by Jacques Julliard: "Pour Simone Veil à elle qui a été de tous les combats contre ce fascisme qui vient... pour lui dire estime et amitié. Jacques Julliard."

First edition, illustrated with 39 double-page colour maps.

Publisher’s binding of brown textured cloth backed with matching corners, smooth spine without lettering, showing rubbing with some fraying to the cloth; title stamped to the upper board; marbled endpapers; corners worn. Publisher’s binding.

Scattered, insignificant foxing; the table of contents leaf is creased; a dampstain with discoloration and paper loss to the foot of the rear board.

This is the last of the major general atlases of the French colonies to appear before the upheavals of the Second World War. Through both text and cartography, it offers an exceptionally comprehensive survey of France’s overseas possessions, each geographical area being treated in a separate section (North Africa, French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarenes, Indochina, Oceania, the Antilles, the French Mandate in the Levant), concluding with a substantial index.

The son of the explorer Maurice Grandidier, Guillaume Grandidier (1873–1957) was above all a geographer, and — like his father — a specialist on Madagascar.

Laid in: Study map of the principal transport routes of Central-West Africa (southern Sahara), a large folding map (with significant paper loss along one fold).

First edition including all the features of the first issue for Du Côté de chez Swann (Grasset printing error on the title-page, front cover with the date 1913, missing contents table, publisher's catalogue at rear). First edition on ordinary paper, one of the very rare first edition copies without a statement of edition for A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs, from an edition of about 500 copies. Following volumes in first numbered editions on pur fil, only deluxe copies after the "réimposés".

Few small tears along the lower edge and a small crease mark to the upper cover of Du côté de chez Swann, with some foxing to the first two leaves; spine very faintly sunned and a marginal dampstain affecting three leaves not affecting the text in Du côté de Guermantes I; foxing to the inscribed leaves and opening leaves of Le Côté de Guermantes II – Sodome et Gomorrhe I and Sodome et Gomorrhe II-1, the latter with a small mark to the spine; marginal foxing to Sodome et Gomorrhe II-3; small lacks of paper at the foot of the spine and one at the lower right corner of the upper cover of La Prisonnière I; a small mark to the upper cover and a tiny tear at the foot of the spine of the first vol. of Albertine disparue; spine sunned and a discreet crease at the corner of the upper cover of the first vol. of Le Temps retrouvé, and a small mark to the lower cover of the last two volumes.
Complete collection of In Search of Lost Time including two important and precious presentation copies, signed and inscribed by Marcel Proust to Lucien Descaves, founding member of the Académie Goncourt:
- “à monsieur Lucien Descaves. / Respectueux hommage de l'auteur. / Marcel Proust” [to Monsieur Lucien Descaves. / Respectful tribute from the author. / Marcel Proust] on Le Côté de Guermantes II – Sodome et Gomorrhe I.
- “à monsieur Lucien Descaves. / Admiratif hommage. / Marcel Proust ” [to Monsieur Lucien Descaves. / Admiring tribute. / Marcel Proust] on Sodome et Gomorrhe II-1.

First edition (cf. Tailliart 2269).

Contemporary half cherry calf, the spines with five raised bands tooled with gilt pointillé and framed by double gilt panels, light rubbing to the spines and headcaps, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers, edges sprinkled.

Scattered foxing.

Drawing on a meticulous assessment of the Algerian situation ten years after the conquest, the author challenges the presumed merits of military administration and advocates the establishment of a fully civilian regime. The lawyer Evariste Bavoux (1809–1890) would later embark, in 1848, on a political career that led him to represent Seine-et-Marne in Parliament.

First edition illustrated with drawings by Jean-Jacques Sempé.

Publisher’s binding in full beige cloth, smooth spine, blue endpapers and pastedowns; a handsome copy complete with its illustrated dust jacket.

Dated and signed presentation inscription from Jean-Jacques Sempé to a woman named Christiane, embellished with an original drawing depicting a cyclist towing, in his trailer, an enormous flowerpot.

First edition, one of the copies printed on vellum paper.

Minor, inconsequential loss at the foot of the spine; light foxing chiefly affecting the rear cover.

Very scarce presentation inscription signed by René Guénon to the French journalist, writer, royalist activist and later collaborationist Jean Héritier.

A rare and sought-after edition of the French Constitution, published the same year as the first edition, printed by Pierre-Samuel du Pont de Nemours, deputy to the National Assembly, who was also a journalist, philosopher, economist, and Franco-American diplomat. He worked as a bookseller-printer from 1791 to 1800 alongside the chemist Antoine de Lavoisier, then with his son Eleuthère-Irénée, founder of the world's oldest chemical company, E.I. du Pont de Nemours.

Contemporary full calf, smooth spines divided by gilt fillets, gilt floral decoration in compartments, red morocco label, boards framed with a double gilt fillet, board edges decorated with a thicker gilt fillet, gilt edges, blue paper endpapers.

Spine rubbed, headcaps missing, some browning to upper portion of front board, upper joint of rear board split for 4.8 cm, splitting starting at foot of rear board, corners bumped.

Inside this copy: a few very minor spots of foxing affecting first and last leaves, stain to verso of lower pastedown.

First edition of the French translation, one of the numbered copies on chestnut paper.

Spine and boards faintly and marginally sunstruck, as often; small tears to the head and tail of the spine; minor pale dampstaining to the lower edge of the upper cover.

First illustrated edition with 85 drawings by Benett and a world map at the end of the volume. Publisher’s catalogue DS bound in at the end.
Publisher’s royal-blue cloth binding with the “two elephants with a fan” design, signed Souze and bound by Lenègre. Spine type D, lower cover type n. Head- and tailcaps and edges slightly rubbed, with tiny splits at the ends of the spine. A fine, bright front cover with brilliant gilt. Spine evenly darkened. Two small tears along the lower margin of the rear cover and a dark one-centimetre stain. Gilt edges perfect. Scattered foxing. A well-preserved and uniform copy.
Handsome copy, scarce in this colour.

First edition, one of 32 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only deluxe issue.

Illustrated with 16 heliogravure plates, with a preface by René Schoeller.

A faint transverse crease to the head of the front cover.

A handsome and uncommon copy.

First edition, one of 80 numbered copies on Rives vellum, the tirage de tête.

Only the copies on Rives vellum are enriched with the watercolor by Man Ray which he signed and numbered in pencil.
Handwritten signature of Louis Aragon below the justification of the print.

A very beautiful and rare copy.

Black and white photographic postcard depicting a smiling Henri Salvador, his chin resting in his right hand.

A fine copy.

Signed autograph inscription by Henri Salvador in the upper left corner of the image.

Provenance: from the collection of noted autograph collector Claude Armand.

New edition.

Bound in navy blue half morocco with corners, spine very slightly faded with four raised bands framed by gilt fillets and adorned with double gilt compartments, one featuring an inlaid red morocco panel; blind-ruled border on moiré-patterned paper boards; marbled endpapers and pastedowns; original wrappers and spine preserved; top edge gilt. Binding signed by Mabilde.

Inscribed, dated and signed by Anatole France to Madame Maurice Guénot.

A handsome copy, elegantly bound.

First edition, one of 50 copies on pure thread paper, part of the deluxe issue.

Half aubergine morocco binding, smooth spine, lacquered marbled paper boards, aubergine paper endpapers and doublures, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, slipcase edged with aubergine morocco, aubergine paper sides, aubergine felt lining. An elegant binding signed C. & J.P. Miguet, dated 1990.

First edition of this issue entirely devoted to Le Douanier Rousseau.
Includes contributions by Guillaume Apollinaire, featuring "Le Douanier", René Dalize, Adolphe Basler, three poems and letters by Le Douanier Rousseau...
Illustrated with seven reproductions of Rousseau's works.
A rare and appealing copy despite minor marginal tears on the covers and a small stain along the right margin of the front cover.

First edition, printed in 200 numbered copies not for sale.

A fine copy.

First edition in deluxe-paper, issued only a few days after the ordinary trade edition, which was printed in 950 copies on Marais paper. This copy is one of 200 numbered on Outhenin-Chalandre, the only deluxe issue. Rare signed presentation copy of Romain Gary’s first published work, inscribed: “À Roland Feuvrier, bien amicalement Romain Gary \ 15 nov. 1945.”

A pleasant copy despite a few small spots and minor marginal tears to the boards. 

First edition.

A fine copy.
Inscribed and signed by Romain Gary.

First edition, of which no copies were printed on deluxe paper.

A fine copy.

Precious signed presentation inscription from Robert Badinter: “Pour Christine Okrent et Bernard Kouchner ce livre sur la difficulté d’être libres et égaux en 1789, en amical hommage. R. Badinter.”

First edition, now rare according to Clouzot.

Endpapers partially toned, occasional scattered foxing, light dampstains in the upper margins of some leaves.
Contemporary half tan sheep binding, spine skilfully restored, marbled paper boards, first endpaper partly toned, a modest period binding (most copies were simply bound at the time, cf. Clouzot).
Exceptional signed autograph inscription by Victor Hugo: "A mon cher et respectable monsieur de la Rivière. Hommage de profond et reconnaissant attachement. Victor."
 

First edition, one of 35 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only deluxe copies after 25 on vélin de lana.

Illustrated, with a preface letter by Pablo Casals.

Rare and appealing copy complete with its photographic dust jacket.

Autograph signature of Pablo Casals on the half-title page.

First collected edition.

Publisher’s full flexible boards, smooth spine.

Richly illustrated.

Inscribed and signed by Siné, with an original red felt-tip drawing depicting a little man holding a glass of wine and exclaiming: "À Gérard Verroust santé! Siné."

First edition.
Book illustrated with a lithographed cover by Joan Miró in seven colors, along with six color lithographs, including two original ones.
Text by Jacques Prévert and Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes.
Publisher’s flexible full paper binding, smooth spine, lacking the original rhodoid jacket.
Richly illustrated.
A handsome copy.

Our copy is enriched with an autograph inscription signed by Joan Miró accompanied by an original drawing depicting one of his characteristic figures, as well as an autograph inscription signed by Jacques Prévert, enhanced with an original drawing showing a little man offering a flower to the dedicatee.

First edition, of which no deluxe copies were printed.

Boards slightly and marginally yellowed without significance; a pleasant copy overall.

Signed autograph inscription from Robert Badinter: "Au haut conseiller Frank, en témoignage d'amitié. R. Badinter."

First edition, one of 2,080 numbered copies on alfa paper.

Publisher’s binding designed from the original layout by Mario Prassinos.

Spine faded as usual.

First bilingual edition presenting the text in English with its facing French translation by Marie-Claude White, one of 28 numbered copies on vellum de Labna, the only deluxe copies printed.

Rare and handsome copy.

First edition of this issue of La Revue musicale dated December 1, 1930, entirely devoted to Serge de Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

With numerous contributions by Anna de Noailles, Gabriel Astruc, Maurice Brillant, Émile Henriot, Michel-Georges Michel, Mikhail Larionov, Auguste Gilbert de Voisins, André Warnod, among others.

Illustrated in black and in color with works by Jean Cocteau, Léon Bakst, Georges Braque, André Derain, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, Natalia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, Pablo Picasso, Maurice Utrillo, and others.

Two small light dampstains at the foot of the spine and rear cover, otherwise a pleasant copy.

First edition of the French translation prepared by Pierre Klossowski, one of 15 copies on pur fil paper, ours unnumbered but duly justified "pur fil", copy from the head of the print run.

A handsome copy.

Partly original edition, entirely revised and corrected.

Half red shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands framed with black fillets, gilt "N" at the foot, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, four bookseller's description labels pasted beneath the bookplate on the pastedown, contemporary binding.

A pleasant copy.

Provenance: from the library of Nadar with his celebrated engraved bookplate "Quand même !"

First edition. One of 385 numbered copies on Vélin d'Arches. Six original lithographs by Georges Rouault and initialled by the author and the publisher, preface by André Suarès and catalogue of the E. Frapier gallery in fine.

The six lithographs are captioned and signed in the plate. Some foxing, shading caused by the protective paper facing the lithographs.

The copy contains an autograph post card signed by Georges Rouault to the publisher about the publication of the book:
“What a terrible job [...], don't change anything, I have reviewed it word for word – twice. I have retouched all the little sketches and the Bloy and the Baudelaire...”

Rare and beautiful copy.

First edition of the French translation, one of 25 numbered copies on alfa vellum, the only deluxe paper copies.

Handsome copy.

First edition, with no mention of copies on deluxe paper.

Half black shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands framed by gilt garlands, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt top edge, contemporary binding.

Pleasant copy.

First 12mo edition, partly original as it is entirely revised.

Half black shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt garlands, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt top edge.

Some foxing,

First edition, one of 137 numbered copies on pure thread vellum, the deluxe issue following 80 on Montval.

A pleasant copy.

Fine signed autograph inscription by René Bazin: "Pour monsieur Dubois en très amical hommage. Cette vie d'une sainte  - agressive et qui du reste n'avait pas la foi - Hervé Bazin. 18.9.52."

Autograph manuscript by the author, two and a half pages in-8, published in the issue of May 11, 1944 of the Journal des Débats. Complete manuscript in very dense handwriting, with numerous erasures, corrections, and additions. Literary column published on the occasion of the release of Gaston Bachelard's L'air et les songes. Accompanied by the complete typescript.

« L'homme est d'abord rêverie, puissance d'imaginer avant d'être sensibilité et raison », Blanchot’s analysis of this new essay by Bachelard provides an opportunity to confront the philosopher with the uncertainties of his theory, which tends to fragment in the plurality of its forms. « Qu'est-ce pour lui que l'image et l'imagination ? On ne le voit pas nettement ».
Yet this sometimes severe critique is above all a device to highlight the true value of Bachelard’s work, which also coincides with one of the central themes of Blanchot’s thought: the creative power of poetic language: "L'image littéraire est un fait premier; elle est la poésie même; (...) se demander s'il y à en nous une poésie d'avant les mots, d'avant les images, un en deçà poétique, une blancheur et un silence que le langage essiaerait de reproduire, c'est méconnaitre l'activité littéraire qui une activité naturelle, originelle, correspondant à une action de l'imagination - faculté de produire l'irréel qui est la conscience même - sur le langage."
Autograph manuscripts by Maurice Blanchot are of the greatest rarity.

Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Naopleon Bonaparte and published between 1809 and 1828, 1,000 copies were printed and distributed to institutions, on vergé paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark, visible when held up to the light.
Light marginal spotting not touching image, otherwise in very fresh, fine condition.

An engraving from the Description de l'Egypte, one of the masterpieces of French printing and the birth of a new field: Egyptology. A gigantic survey of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests in 1798 and 1799, the work is divided into 13 volumes of engravings making up 892 plates, of which 72 colored, as well as presenting the splendors of the Egypt of the Pharaohs in 9 volumes. The other volumes discuss natural history and present a fascinating portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's Eastern Armies.

The ‘Egyptian campaign', militarily a disaster, demonstrates, through the engravings of the Description d'Egypte, the scientific success it nonetheless became thanks to the 167 expert members of the Commission of the Sciences and Arts of the Institut d'Egypte [Egyptian Institute] who followed Napoleon's army. The Institut gathered together in Egypt the mathematician Monge, the chemist Berthollet, the naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as well as numerous artists, engineers, architects and doctors. They were tasked with re-discovering modern and ancient Egypt and displaying its natural treasures as well as the know-how of its inhabitants.

This edition, the so-called “Imperial” edition of the plates for the Description de l'Egypte was printed in four large formats, two of which were specially created for it and christened “Moyen-Egypte” and “Grand-Egypte”. A special press was built to print it, the process extending over 20 years, from 1809 to 1829. The “Imperial” edition proved so popular that a second edition, this time in black and white and without the “Egypte ancienne et moderne” watermark – known as the “Royal Edition” – was published during the Restoration by the printing house of C.-L.-F. Panckoucke (Paris).

The engravings of the Description d'Egypte owe a great deal to Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon, illustrator, diplomat, collector and later Director of the Musée Napoléon (the Louvre). His exploration of the South of Egypt gave Bonaparte the idea of sending the experts of the Institut there, thus creating a faithful and complete portrait of the area. This was the research gathered together from 1802 in the mammoth Description de L'Egypte.

Denon embarked on this story of archeological exploration at the age of 51, reaching first Alexandria and then Cairo before exploring Upper Egypt. Along with the members of the Institut d'Egypte, the Natural History Museum's painter H.J. Redouté (brother of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, author of Roses), the mineralogist Dolomiue, and the draughtsman Joly, Denon then explored the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt. When, however, he joined the 21st Light Infantry Regiment as it marched across Upper Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Mameluks in November 1798, he found himself the only civilian. In the very midst of the battle itself, he reeled off sketches of the works of art that peppered his path right up to the threshold of the Sudan. He said that he had crossed “a country that is, apart from its name, entirely unknown to Europeans, and therefore everything was worth describing” (Voyages dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes de Bonaparte en 1798 et 1799, 1817).

On his return to Cairo, the great general, spellbound by Denon's accounts and drawings ordered two commissions to be set up, led by the engineers Fourier and Costaz. They were tasked with the scientific study of the ancient remains in Upper Egypt; research that proved a significant contribution to the monumental Description d'Egypte, from which this plate is taken.

ANCIENT EGYPT

These engravings therefore represent a unique body of material that contributed to Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of hieroglyphics, and which mark the beginning of the line of Mariette, Maspero and Carter, who would reshape the face of Ancient Egypt. They also started a craze that gave birth to the phenomenon of Egyptomania and the Orientalism of Delacroix, Fromentin, Marilhat, Decamps and Théophile Gautier. Financiers, politicians, merchants and all kinds of treasure-hunters made their way to the banks of the Nile in search of riches, following this rediscovery of Egypt. The originators of Egyptology, these plates were to have a hugely influential afterlife.

NATURAL HISTORY

These engravings show the scientific genius of the French experts then working on the ground in Egypt, laying the foundations for its becoming a French colony. This colonizing project, which had been mooted since the reign of Louis XIV, was now accompanied – with Bonaparte's arrival – by an in-depth study of the country's fauna and flora thanks to the work of the most eminent naturalists, mineralogists, and entomologists of the day. The Description de l'Egypte shows all of this immense scientific undertaking through its engravings, which were done after drawings by members of the Academy of Science, including Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, Alire Raffenau-Delile and Henri-Joseph Redouté. In the words of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, “We have gathered the material for the greatest work that a nation could hope to undertake. In mourning the fate of so many brave soldiers who – after so many glorious exploits – fell in Egypt, we shall be able to console ourselves that such precious works came into being.”

MODERN EGYPT

The genius of the experts of the Institut d'Egypte is revealed in the plates of the section known as “Modern Egypte”. Architecture, industry, social organization, conditions of health, irrigation, music, and crafts, are all presented with exceptional precision and powers of description. The spirit of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie runs through the work of the draughtsmen of the Description de L'Egypte, who accompanied the text volumes with numerous detailed plates, undertaking to produce a portrait of the local population that was imbued with both beauty and respect. Wealthy Pashas and simple artisan potters are sensitively represented here, going about their business in beautifully composed images that nonetheless do not fall into the traps of idealism or caricature.

ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE (the “Cairo” plates)

The set of engravings to which this plate belongs constitutes one of the first complete studies of the monuments of Islamic Egypt in Cairo, bringing together maps, sections and elevations of mosques, mausoleums and fortifications, from the Tulunid era in the 9th century up to the Mameluk constructions contemporaneous with the arrival of the Bonapartist troops. At the same time, the architects and engineers of the Institut d'Egypte also made a big series of plates dedicated to civilian housing and edifices in Cairo, including both grander and more modest constructions, providing a precious picture of life in Cairo at the end of the 19th century.

BAB AL FOUTOUH

Bab el-Foutouh, " The Conquest Gate” marks the northern limit of Fatimid old Cairo. Rebuilt in 1087, it is highly defensive in nature owing to the turbulent climate in 11th Century Cairo, which saw a number of popular uprisings. An imposing gate, it has two semicircular towers with low-slung arches made of heavy blocks of stone anchored within the ramparts. The sizeable passage through the gate (4.85m wide by 6.79m high) has a shallow dome.

BAB EL NASR

Bab el-Nasr, “The Victory Gate” is on the northern wall of the Fatimid fortress in Cairo. Its two enormous rectangular towers were rebuilt in 1087 after a long period of popular uprisings. On this highly attractive frontal image signed Protain, one can admire the sculpted shields in the corners of the gate and on the towers, symbolizing victory and protection against invaders. After taking Cairo, Napoleon named all the towers along the wall of the fortress after the officers assigned to guard them. Their names are still engraved on the upper parts of the walls of the gate.

SULTAN HASSAN MOSQUE

The massive architectural complex constructed by Sultan Hassan at the foot of the citadel in Cairo was built in the ostentatious style so characteristic of Mameluk architecture. Completed in 1356, the Sultan Hassan Mosque has a monumental gate and a 57m high minaret. This group of buildings, comprising a mausoleum that was never put to use, was strategically built on the site of a square that saw the start of a number of popular uprisings. The mosque was heavily inspired by Iranian models.

Philae

This plate is taken from a set of engravings dedicated to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae. The final bastion of the worship of the ancient Egyptian gods, the temple of Isis was the last pagan temple to be in use before it was closed in the 6th century A.D. under Justinian. Construction on the temple began under the Ptolemies, a period of growth for the Isis cult. Isis was the sister and wife of Osiris and mother to Horus.

Kom Ombo (Ombos)

The Kom Ombo site, 40 kilometers from Aswan, is home to one of the best preserved ancient Egyptian temples, dedicated to Sobek, a crocodile god and Haroeris, a form of Horus. Built in the Ptolemaic era, it was actually founded during the XVIIIth Dynasty. Its massive Composite capitals and highly accomplished reliefs are captured accurately by the draughtsmen of the Institut d'Egypte, Jollois, Balzac and Cécile. The dual aspect of its design, intended for worship of two different divine triads – those of Sobek and Haroeris – is reproduced in great detail by the architects and engineers of the Egyptian campaign through this set of prints, which preceded the first archeological digs in the building by Auguste Mariette in 1828.

Edfu

This plate is taken from a series of views of the great temple at Edfu and the various buildings in its cultic complex. The temple of Horus, a jewel of Ptolemaic architecture and exceptionally well-preserved, is made up of a majestic entry gate and a hypostyle chamber, which are both extensively documented thanks to the engravings by the experts of the Institut d'Egypte. Begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III and completed 180 years later under Tiberius, it proved an extraordinary sight for the draughtsmen come to explore the left bank of the Nile.

Esna and its environs

The town of Esna (Esneh or Latopolis in Bonaparte's time), lies fifty kilometers to the south of Luxor. The experts from the Institut de l'Egypte documented their discovery of its temple, dedicated to Khnum, one of the gods of creation who worked with clay and had the head of a ram; he controlled the life-giving flooding of the Nile, the source of fertility. He was associated with Nebt-uu, the mistress of the countryside and Menhyt, a goddess with the head of a lion. This temple, partially rebuilt during the Ptolemaic era, was added to right up to the reign of Tiberius. The draughtsmen also produced a number of views of the neighboring temples, most notably the less well-preserved temple of Contra-Latopolis to the north of Esna.

Thebes

Medinet-Habu

Close to Thebes and Luxor on the left bank of the Nile, the city of Medinet-Habu is home to one of the most attractive temples of New Kingdom period Egypt, the mortuary temple of Ramses III. This dates from the middle of the 12th century BC, and is based on the famous Ramesseum of his predecessor, which it surpasses in size. A funerary temple celebrating the Pharaoh, the experts of the Institut d'Egypte set about creating cross-sections, plans and elevations, and most especially capturing its numerous bas-reliefs. The architects and draughtsmen also focused on the Royal Palace and its internal peristyle within the 12-metre fortress that encircles the religious complex, including the Temple of Amon, located at the south-east of the site and begun in the reign of Hatshepsut at the end of the 15th Century BC.

Memnonium

The Memnonium, a name used by visitors to the Valley of the Kings from 1750 to 1850, refers to a set of three royal buildings constructed during the New Kingdom: the Ramesseum, the Temple of Amenhotep III and the Temple of Sethi I. The draughtsmen and architects of Bonaparte's Institut, sent out on expedition across Upper Egypt from 1799 documented Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, even attempting to reconstruct some of the buildings on the basis of descriptions by Classical authors. The tomb of Ozymandias (one of the numerous names of Ramses II), in a very poor state, thus became the subject of very thorough study and an attempt to fill in its missing bits on the basis of the writings of Diodurus Siculus. This Greek historian of the Augustine period stayed in the valley of the Nile from 60-57 BC and his visit to the tomb of Ramses II is recounted in his monumental Bibliotheca Historica (Book I, XLVII-XLIX).

At the same time, the experts also made extremely detailed studies and views of the Colossi of Memnon, all that remains of a huge memorial temple to Amenhotep III built on the road to the necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. These colossi were located at the entrance to the temple in front of a preliminary pylon made of brick. These two statues represent King Amenhotep III framed to the right by the great Royal Consort Tiy and to the left by the Queen Mother Mutemwiya.

Hypogea and Biban el Moluk

This plate is taken from a series of engravings of the hypogea in the Valley of the Kings (Biban el Moluk) in Thebes. Some are in color to show the vivid hues of the sarcophaguses and mysterious murals whose secret had yet to be broken by Jean-François Champollion. The draughtsmen of the Institut, including the famous Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, sent by Napoleon to cover Upper Egypt in 1799, capture with élan the royal mummies and the artifacts that accompanied the dead in their journey to the netherworld: urns, furniture, weapons, idols and the mummies of numerous mammals and birds.

Karnak

This plate is from a set on the Great Temple at Karnak, built during the New Kingdom at the time of Ramses III. This enormous complex is divided into three parts and is dedicated to the Theban Triad of gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Its sculptures, internal bas-reliefs and sunken reliefs on the external facades are intricately captured by the engineers of the Institut, while the architects worked out the complex groundplan of this edifice, which was divided into facades, colonnaded halls and sacral spaces reserved for the temple priests. The alley of the monumental sphinx which links the site to the Luxor site was also the subject of a plate by Lepère, an architect from the Institut who took part in the expedition across Upper Egypt.

Dendera

The experts executed views and drawings of the temples of Dendera (or Tentyra), a city in Upper Egypt 60km to the north of Luxor. They have captured, with an exceptional degree of graphic artistry, the thick, round nature of the sculpted reliefs of the great Temple of Hathor, built under the Ptolemies in the first half of the 1st century BC. They also produced interesting views of the neighboring temples as well as a selection of reliefs of the “Dendera Zodiac”, a chapel dedicated to Osiris and located beneath the temple of Hathor. Its famous astronomical relief was discovered by the French General Desaix – stationed in Upper Egypt by Bonaparte from 1798 – and taken back to France in 1821 by Claude Lelorrain; it is now on display in the Louvre. Another astronomical and cosmological relief on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor is the subject of a magnificent plate by Jollois and Devilliers. This covers seven soffit coffers of the ceiling and is an immense allegorical image showing several levels of consciousness: that of cosmogony, the constellations and their effect on the Earth, the creation of Man, and the Nomes of Egypt, symbolized by 21 pairs of wings topped with the red crown of Lower Egypt and the white tiara of Upper Egypt.

The Pyramids at Memphis

The Giza Plateau, near Memphis, is home to three of the most famous Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, the tombs of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure, Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (2620-2500 BC). The experts of the Institut, hurrying to Memphis, explored the plateau and made numerous views of these majestic pyramids, towering over inhabitants and mounted figures. They also made minutely detailed views of the epigraphs on the tombs adjacent to the pyramids, as well as views of the Sphinx of Gaza near the Pyramid of Khafre.

Views of Alexandria

A plate taken from a set of view of Alexandria as it was found by Napoleon's army in June 1798. Embarking in Toulon on the 14th May, his troops disembarked at Alexandria a month later and explored this port city before heading towards Cairo to take the capital.

First edition on ordinary paper.

Purple half-cloth Bradel binding, smooth spine with a gilt floral motif, gilt initials and double fillet at foot, marbled paper boards, lower corners rubbed, contemporary binding.

Spine sunned, a few small spots of foxing mostly affecting the margins of the leaves.

Precious presentation copy inscribed by Emile Zola to a major inspiration for Germinal: "A Yves Guyot son dévoué confrère. Emile Zola."

Guyot was the author of a novel on an accident and a strike in the mines of Northern France. Together with his economic theories and his series of reports on the Anzin miners’ strike, his work had a profound influence on Zola in the writing of this masterpiece. Guyot even assisted Zola in his research, and introduced him to  socialist deputy Alfred Giard with whom Zola visited mines for his novel.

First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author in the first volume, 6 maps and plans, and 70 engraved portraits hors-texte, including 65 depicting the Grand Masters of the Order of Malta. (cf. Brunet, V, 1149. Cohen 1011. Saffroy 5420.)

Some restorations to the joints, early marginal annotations at the bottom of pages, library stamp on all three volumes, the third of which is bound slightly differently with regard to the gilt tooling; a loss on the endpaper of the first volume, which has been partially cut out.

A good copy.

The illustrations are distributed as follows:

Volume 1: 1 frontispiece, 3 folding maps, and 26 full-page portraits.

Volume 2: 1 plan and 20 full-page portraits.

Volume 3: 2 folding maps and 5 full-page portraits.

Volume 4: 19 full-page portraits.

Contemporary full speckled tan calf bindings, spines with five raised bands, richly gilt in double-panel compartments, gilt fillets along the board edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

A writer, historian, and member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Abbé de Vertot (1655–1735) authored several notable works, including Révolutions romaines (1719). Dedicated to the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Dom Antoine Manoel de Vilhena, the Histoire des chevaliers hospitaliers offers a chronological account of key events from the Order’s founding in Jerusalem in 1099. The final section includes a Dissertation on the Government of the Order of Malta, the Old and New Statutes of the Order, and an Alphabetical List of the Knight Brothers from the Langues of Provence, Auvergne, and France, as well as the Grand Priories of Aquitaine and Champagne. 

First edition. One of 50 copies on Rives vellum, ours one of 15 hors commerce copies numbered in Roman numerals, a deluxe issue following 7 copies on Japan paper.

A fine copy with full margins, presented in a chemise and slipcase of half brown shagreen, smooth spine, sides in wood-grain paper, the ensemble signed by P. Goy & C. Vilaine.

The volume includes a full-page map of the city and its surroundings.

The author’s first book, it opens with the now famous sentence: "J'avais vingt ans. Je ne laisserai personne dire que c'est le plus bel âge de la vie".

On the half-title, signed autograph inscription in red ink by Paul Nizan to his publisher Frédéric Rieder,

First edition of the French translation, one of 200 numbered copies on pure wove paper, the only deluxe issue.

Handsome illustrated cover by Paul Colin, the volume adorned with 16 previously unpublished illustrations.

Slight sunning marks at head and tail of spine.

A rare and appealing copy.

First edition, one of 30 numbered copies on pur fil, the only copies on deluxe paper.

Minor, insignificant foxing to some edges, a handsome copy.