Buchet / Chastel

First edition of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Precious autograph inscription signed by Bruce Lowery to Joseph Breitbach.

First French translation of one of the reference works on the Nazi concentration camp system.

Of exceptional rarity, this French translation of Primo Levi's first book went as unnoticed as the Italian first edition published in 1947. It would take the author's suicide in 1987 for a second French edition to be published and for this fundamental testimony on the Shoah to become this emblematic work of concentration camp literature.
Michèle Causse's translation reflects the difficulty of transcribing the words of witnesses to the unspeakable. But it was above all the unconscious refusal to hear this voice that contributed to the failure of Primo Levi's first book, like that of...

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy.
Dated and signed autograph inscription from Jean-Claude Renard to Nadine Nimier, wife and widow of Roger Nimier.

First edition, printed on ordinary paper, of the French translation.
Complete with its illustrated dust jacket which shows small tears and minor lacks.
Precious two-color autograph inscription signed by Lawrence Durrell to his friend Janine Brun: "Janine Brun / from Lawrence Durrell / with affection".
Among the olive trees and under the Mediterranean sun, Lawrence Durrell met in the mid-1960s the young and vivacious "Jany" (Janine Brun), a woman from Montpellier in her thirties with devastating beauty, who worked at the Department of Antiquities at the Sorbonne in Paris. She was nicknamed "Buttons" in memory of their first meeting, where the young woman wore a...

First edition of the French translation, of which no deluxe copies were printed, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Spine and covers lightly and marginally spotted and sunned.
Autograph inscription signed by Lawrence Durrell to his close friend Janine Brun: "Janine pour Lawrence. Souvenirs 1968." ["Janine for Lawrence. Memories 1968."]

After many years spent in Greece, Egypt and Rhodes, the travel writer Lawrence Durrell was forced to flee Cyprus following popular uprisings that led the island to its independence from the British crown. Rich only in a shirt and a typewriter but crowned with the success of his novel Bitter Lemons of Cyprus...

First edition in French, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Handsome copy.
Signed autograph inscription from Lawrence Durrell to Maurice Noël.
Provenance: from the library of Maurice Noël with his amusing bookplate pasted on an endpaper and his motto: "Adada sur mon bidet. Tout et rien !" ["Adada on my bidet. Everything and nothing!"]

First edition.
Text by Valère Bertrand.
Illustrated book of many reproductions of works of Pierre Collin.
Autograph dedication signed by Pierre Collin to a friend named Nanie, daughter of the painter and engraver Jean Frélaut: "In Nanie, the" ordinary Vertigo "who exercised on the hill" Frélaut "with happiness! enriched with an original drawing in black ink enhanced with watercolor and representing a character in a cafe.

First edition, one of 30 numbered copies on Hollande paper, the tirage de tête.
A good copy.

First edition of the French translation of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Half turquoise sheep binding with corners, spine slightly faded with four fine raised bands, marbled paper boards, blue paper endpapers and pastedowns, covers and spine preserved.
Rare signed autograph inscription by the author in English.

First edition, one of 300 numbered copies on pur fil paper, the only deluxe copies after 30 on Holland paper.
Handsome copy.

First edition of the French translation, of which there were no deluxe copies.
A handsome copy.
Iconography.

First edition of the French translation for which it was not drawn great papers.
Small spots on the boards.
Signed autograph dedication from Lawrence Durrell in English to Mrs. Rodier.

LEVI Primo
J'étais un homme - Se questo è un uomo
[If This Is A Man]
Buchet/Chastel, Paris 1961, 14 x 19 cm, original wrappers
First edition of the French translation of one of the authoritative works on the Nazi concentration camp system.
Exceptionally rare, this French translation of Primo Levi's first book would go as unnoticed as the original Italian edition that was published in 1947. It was only upon the suicide of its author in 1987 that a second French edition was published and this fundamental testimony on the Shoah became the emblematic work of concentration camp literature.
Michèle Causse's translation reflects the difficulty of transcribing...

First edition, one of 300 numbered copies on pur fil paper, the only large paper copies after 30 on Hollande paper.
A good copy.

Edition for which he was not drawn large paper, review copy.
Signed autograph of Roselene Dousset-Leenhardt to a couple of friends: "... the echo of an old talk about my homeland they know well ..."
Illustrated book of 4 boards inset.
Bites on the back and margins of the first flat, nice interior state.

Original edition for which he was not drawn large papers.
Preface by Marcel Ayme.
Friendly autograph signed by the author Marie Antoinette Ayme, wife of Marcel: "... to thank her for being what it is ..."
Photographic coverage.

First edition in French published by docteur Roland Cahen.
Autograph inscription from Roland Cahen.
A good copy.

First edition, of which no deluxe copies were printed.
Work decorated with 65 illustrations.
Handsome copy.

First edition in French, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Light crease marks of no consequence affecting the front cover, handsome copy.