Nobel Prize in Literature

First edition, one of 92 numbered copies on pure thread Lafuma paper, deluxe copy.
Spine slightly sunned at head and foot.

First edition, one of 50 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only deluxe copies after 20 on Arches paper.
Light spotting to boards, endpapers very slightly shadowed, handsome copy.

Autograph letter signed by Roger Martin du Gard addressed from Nice to his friends Rim (3 pages, 46 lines in black ink) great suppliers of sweets and other delicacies for the author of Les Thibault who seems to rediscover, under the Provençal sun and tranquility; a soothed sweetness and carefree spirit of living simply, the proximity of a school further facilitating this ideal peace :
"Nice. 1er novembre 34
Chers amis, pour si agréable qu'il soit, c'est un rôle bien gênant à tenir que celui du vieux monsieur qu'on gave de sucreries ! Je suis attendri jusqu'aux larmes que vous pensiez ainsi à me régaler à distance, et le coeur me fond dans la poitrine en même temps que les caramels dans la bouche... J'ai refusé autrefois de participer à l'érection d'un buste de Blasco Ibanez, sous le prétexte que les vrais bienfaiteurs de l'humanité, Gillette et Eversharp, n'avaient pas leurs statues sur toutes les places publiques de France. Je refuse aujourd'hui toute obole pour le monument du roi Alexandre, tant que Marseille reconnaissante n'aura pas fait à Castelmuro (pâtissier-chocolatier qui était une véritable institution marseillaise) la statue en pied, sur socle de nougat, qu'il mérite depuis longtemps ! Que devenez-vous ? Ou peut-on lire du Carlo Rim ? Mr Virgule me réjouit chaque semaine fidèlement ; mais la prose alerte et mordante, qui me donnait, de loin, l'impression d'avoir assisté aux fêtes de Paris, me manque. Et plus encore le volume substanciel que Rim pourrait nous donner tous les trois mois, s'il le voulait. Pour moi, j'ai trouvé à Nice le climat idéal. C'est seul coin du monde, je crois bien, où s'est réfugié la douceur de vivre d'avant-guerre. Nous y menons une vie "sans obligations ni sanctions" ; une vie laborieuse aussi, car j'y travaille bien, sans voir personne. Mes fenêtres s'ouvrent sur une école, et c'est la cloche des élèves qui règle mon lever, mon travail, mes repas. Pendant les récréations, je fume ma pipe, entre les deux coups de cloche. C'est admirable. C'est la vie de couvent, à domicile. Donnez-moi de vos nouvelles. Les nuages qui s'accumulent à l'horizon ne jettent-ils pas leur ombre sur votre irréductible bonne humeur ? Je vous souhaite mille prospérités ! Ne doutez pas de l'affectueuse fidélité de ma pensée, ni de ma gastronomique reconnaissance, Roger Martin du Gard." ["Dear friends, however pleasant it may be, it's quite an awkward role to play, that of the old gentleman who is stuffed with sweets! I am moved to tears that you think to treat me at a distance, and my heart melts in my chest at the same time as the caramels in my mouth... I once refused to participate in the erection of a bust of Blasco Ibanez, under the pretext that the true benefactors of humanity, Gillette and Eversharp, did not have their statues in all the public squares of France. I refuse today any contribution for the monument to King Alexander, as long as grateful Marseille has not given Castelmuro (pastry-chocolatier who was a true Marseille institution) the full-length statue, on a nougat pedestal, that he has long deserved! What are you up to? Where can one read Carlo Rim? Mr Virgule delights me faithfully every week; but the alert and biting prose, which gave me, from afar, the impression of having attended the festivities of Paris, I miss. And even more the substantial volume that Rim could give us every three months, if he wanted to. As for me, I have found the ideal climate in Nice. It's the only corner of the world, I believe, where the sweetness of pre-war living has taken refuge. We lead a life there 'without obligations or sanctions'; a laborious life too, for I work well there, seeing no one. My windows open onto a school, and it's the students' bell that regulates my rising, my work, my meals. During recess, I smoke my pipe, between the two bell strokes. It's admirable. It's convent life, at home. Give me your news. Don't the clouds gathering on the horizon cast their shadow on your irreducible good humor? I wish you a thousand prosperities! Do not doubt the affectionate faithfulness of my thoughts, nor my gastronomic gratitude, Roger Martin du Gard."]
Crease mark inherent to the folding for mailing.

Autograph letter signed by Roger Martin du Gard addressed from Cassis to his friend Alice Rim (3 pages, 48 lines in black ink) in which he savors his peaceful solitude in deserted Cassis. He thanks her for all the delicacies and confectioneries with which she supplies the Provençal hermit who only deplores the absence of his friends Carlo and Rim at his side :
"Cassis. 8 janvier 34
Chère madame, Et serait-ce de petites crottes de musaraignes dans du papier d'argent, que je serais déjà pénétré de reconnaissance par votre amicale attention ! Imaginez donc ce que je puis éprouver en décortiquant ces délicieux tortillons de La Rochelle, croquants et onctueux, insinuants comme des suppositoires, et qui laissent dans mon vieux palais toutes les saveurs de l'amitié ! Ce confiseur charentais a su donner à vos voeux une forme gastronomique qui en double le prix ; et même si ces voeux, comme tous ses pareils, ne se réalisent pas, je suis d'ores et déjà assuré d'en garder un inoubliable souvenir : mais pourquoi La Rochelle ? Si vous vouliez revoir la mer, pourquoi cette infidélité à notre grande Bleue ? Elle s'était faite accueillante pour vous recevoir : elle avait cessé de charrier ses banquises, retrouvé ses ondulations de soie et son peuplement de petites barques, sous le soleil quasi printanier. Mais les fêtes s'achèvent, et les Carlo Rim n'ont pas reparu... Je reste le seul "hivernant". On me montre du doigt aux enfants du port. Le Bestuan est désert. L'hôtel est vide. J'ai vu partir un à un tous les pensionnaires. Puis le personnel. Enfin les hôteliers. on m'a laissé seul, avec les clefs et une vieille fée Carabosse pour me faire la bouillabaisse. C'est simplement merveilleux. J'ai un poêle à essence qui vit aux dépens de mon oxygène, mais qui me préserve de la congestion par le froid, en m'asphyxiant lentement. Gendre, dans son local déserté, dort toute l'après-midi, roulé en boule sur la banquette, avec sa chienne en guise de chancelière. La vieille amie s'en est allée sans attirer l'attention, et la jeune ne trouble pas encore par ses yeux ce monde de marmottes, qui somnole en attendant votre retour. Je vous souhaite un hiver aussi calme que le mien, un quai de Passy aussi ensoleillé que celui du port. Partagez avec Carlo Rim et M. Virgule toutes mes amitiés fidèles, et croyez, chère madame, que je suis confus mais très heureux de vous avoir laissé le souvenir d'un vieux type gourmand ! Roger Martin du Gard." ["Cassis. January 8, 34
Dear Madam, Even if they were little shrew droppings in silver paper, I would already be filled with gratitude for your friendly attention! Imagine then what I might feel when peeling these delicious twists from La Rochelle, crunchy and creamy, insinuating like suppositories, and which leave in my old palate all the flavors of friendship! This confectioner from Charente has known how to give your wishes a gastronomic form that doubles their value; and even if these wishes, like all their kind, do not come true, I am already assured of keeping an unforgettable memory of them: but why La Rochelle? If you wanted to see the sea again, why this infidelity to our great Blue? She had made herself welcoming to receive you: she had stopped carrying her ice floes, rediscovered her silk undulations and her population of small boats, under the almost spring-like sun. But the festivities are ending, and the Carlo Rims have not reappeared... I remain the only 'winter resident'. I am pointed out to the children of the port. The Bestuan is deserted. The hotel is empty. I saw all the guests leave one by one. Then the staff. Finally the hoteliers. I was left alone, with the keys and an old fairy Carabosse to make me bouillabaisse. It is simply marvelous. I have a kerosene stove that lives at the expense of my oxygen, but which preserves me from congestion by cold, by slowly asphyxiating me. Gendre, in his deserted premises, sleeps all afternoon, curled up in a ball on the bench, with his dog as a foot-warmer. The old friend went away without attracting attention, and the young one does not yet trouble with her eyes this world of marmots, which slumbers awaiting your return. I wish you a winter as calm as mine, a quai de Passy as sunny as that of the port. Share with Carlo Rim and M. Virgule all my faithful friendships, and believe, dear madam, that I am embarrassed but very happy to have left you the memory of an old gourmand fellow! Roger Martin du Gard."]
Fold mark inherent to the mailing.

First edition on ordinary paper.
Signed autograph inscription from Samuel Beckett to his long-time friend Josette Hayden, wife of the cubist then realist painter of Polish origin Henri Hayden. The numerous exchanges between the latter and Beckett inspired the dialogues of Estragon and Vladimir in Waiting for Godot.
The Hayden couple spent twenty years with the writer settled "in his small pavilion in Ussy near La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, this lair, this cave where, solitary, he went to seek the root of words in the abysses of life so close to death. It is there that he forged the greater part of his masterful work." (Christian de Bartillat, Deux amis, Beckett et Hayden).
Beckett had met the Haydens in 1943 when all three had taken refuge in Roussillon, escaping the Gestapo. Their shared passion for chess and painting brought them together: "There are wonderful days. Here and there, a dinner with the Haydens. Played chess once. Looking crucified for twenty moves before making an error that resulted in a draw." (Bartillat, p. 95). Beckett helped make Hayden's work known after the war, notably by helping to organize exhibitions of his works in Victor Waddington's London gallery. After the immense success of Waiting for Godot, Beckett bought a country house in 1953 in Ussy-sur-Marne, in the hamlet of Molien. There he found the calm and serenity conducive to writing and saw the Haydens almost daily, who lived not far away, in Reuil-en-Brie. It was in the heart of this "land neither too green nor too flat," Beckett wrote to a friend in 1954, that this fraternal and creative friendship flourished, punctuated by games of chess.
After Henri Hayden's death in 1970, which greatly affected the writer, Josette remained a central figure in Beckett's life and work. She helped him record his ideas for future works - several of the writer's notebooks contain passages written in her hand. She also contributed to the writer's biography by sharing her intimate memories and anecdotes, published in Deux amis, Beckett et Hayden by Christian de Bartillat.
Exceptional inscription to a close friend, who spent time with Beckett for nearly half a century. Josette Hayden was one of the rare intimates of his reclusive life on the banks of the Marne, contributed to the genesis of several of his writings and worked to preserve his memory.
Beckett's correspondence addressed to the Hayden couple is preserved at Trinity College Dublin.

First edition.
Publisher's full brown grained sheep binding, orange top edge, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets.
Rich iconography.
Handsome copy complete with its glassine wrapper and slipcase.

First edition published in the Bibliothèque de La Pléiade collection and printed on Bible paper.
Rich iconography.
Handsome copy complete with its glassine wrapper and soft slipcase.

First edition of the French translation, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy complete with its illustrated dust jacket.
Rare autograph inscription dated and signed, in French, by Orhan Pamuk to a woman named Florence.

New pocket book format edition of the French translation.
One endpaper appears to be missing.
Rare handwritten signature by Kenzaburo Oe on the title page.

First edition in French for which no deluxe copies were printed.
Boards very slightly and marginally soiled.
Rare autograph inscription dated and signed by Seamus Heaney, written from Paris, to a man named Jean-Claude.
Seamus Heaney, born in Ulster in County Derry and who died in Dublin, is one of the most important English-speaking poets of the 20th century and became, in 1995, the fourth Irish author to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature after William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett.

First edition, one of 56 numbered copies on Holland paper, deluxe copy.
Additionally, 210 copies were printed on pure thread paper and, hors commerce, 50 copies on Madagascar paper.
A very handsome copy of Camus's finest text on commitment and the responsibility of new generations facing the challenges of the world to come.

First edition.
Handsome copy.
Bradel binding in full grey cloth, smooth spine, complete with dust jacket which has three small spots and a minor tear to the front cover.
Precious autograph inscription signed by Thomas Stearns Eliot to Raymond Queneau.

Fine and amusing signed manuscript letter from Roger Martin du Gard addressed from Cassis to Alice Rim (3 and a half pages, 54 lines in black ink) in which he lyrically praises the benefits of the delicious Parisian confections that his correspondent sends him: "... Et quelles sucreries ! Si Dieu pouvait goûter ce que Boissier fabrique avec ses fruits, comme il serait honteux des grossiers produits de ses arbres, et comme il aurait envie de recommencer sa création..." ["... And what confections! If God could taste what Boissier makes with his fruits, how ashamed he would be of the crude products of his trees, and how he would want to begin his creation anew..."]
He also praises the tranquility of Cassis without summer visitors: "Plus d'autos, plus de poussière, plus de phonos, plus de sirènes entre deux vagues... C'est le beau, clair et silencieux Cassis authentique, où rien ne gêne le travail..." ["No more cars, no more dust, no more phonographs, no more sirens between two waves... This is the beautiful, clear and silent authentic Cassis, where nothing disturbs work..."]and the pleasure of reading "Voilà", a magazine in which Carlo Rim collaborates as an illustrator: "... pas un moucheron de Cassis qui ne s'imagine avoir collaboré avec Carlo Rim, et son livre sera ici une oeuvre collective, nationale..." ["... not a single gnat in Cassis who doesn't imagine having collaborated with Carlo Rim, and his book will be here a collective, national work..."],a pleasure shared by all the residents of Cassis: "... je ne sais comment réagissent les puissants de Marseille qu'il égratigne si gaillardement. Mais, ici, ce ne sont que sourires quand on parle de "Carlo". Et j'imagine qu'un jour la population déboulonnera le Calendal de la jetée, pour hisser sur le socle un Carlo Rim de granit ou un M. Virgule en ciment armé..." ["... I don't know how the powerful people of Marseille react to his spirited scratches. But here, there are only smiles when we speak of "Carlo". And I imagine that one day the population will unbolt the Calendal from the pier, to hoist on the pedestal a Carlo Rim in granite or a M. Virgule in reinforced cement..."]
In a final gourmand flourish Roger Martin du Gard thanks Alice Rim: "Veuillez agréer, chère madame, l'hommage de ma gourmandise reconnaissante..." ["Please accept, dear madam, the tribute of my grateful gluttony..."]
Crease mark inherent to envelope folding.

Autograph manuscript by the author, 3½ pages octavo, published in the October 21, 1945 issue (no. 19) of Paysage dimanche.
Complete recto-verso manuscript, in very dense handwriting, with numerous deletions, corrections and additions.
Literary chronicle published on the occasion of the publication of the first two volumes of Jean-Paul Sartre's trilogy Les chemins de la liberté: "L'Age de raison" and "Le Sursis".
Together with the complete typescript, with one deletion and one autograph correction by the author.

When this chronicle appeared in autumn 1945, Maurice Blanchot and Jean-Paul Sartre had already demonstrated their mutual interest in each other's respective work, in articles that were sometimes critical, sometimes laudatory, always attentive. Similarly, if Les chemins de la liberté aroused Blanchot's admiration, it was essentially through the philosopher's skillful use of the influence of two monuments of Anglo-Saxon literature, Virginia Woolf and John Dos Passos: « Ce qui nous paraît frappant, c'est le caractère d'œuvre d'art qu'en reçoit le livre, œuvre extrêmement composée, calculée avec un souci infiniment sûr des effets, où la confusion reste claire, où le désordre est perfection, et telle qu'on y reconnaît sans cesse la présence de l'écrivain le plus lucide, capable de tout obtenir du langage dont il est maître. » ["What strikes us as remarkable is the character of a work of art that the book receives, an extremely composed work, calculated with infinitely sure concern for effects, where confusion remains clear, where disorder is perfection, and such that one constantly recognizes the presence of the most lucid writer, capable of obtaining everything from the language he masters."]
But this "Roman de Sartre" was above all an opportunity for Blanchot to raise the question of the links between literature and politics, on which the two men would have great difficulty agreeing in the following decades. Thus, Blanchot summarized Sartre's vision, evoking the problem of commitment: « Il est indéniable que l'art de Sartre atteint son plus grand pouvoir lorsqu'il décrit l'engloutissement des consciences par les choses qui les hantent et les débordent, et de laquelle elles coulent comme une pâte pleine d'odeurs. Le monde qu'il sent est celui d'une métamorphose, mais cette métamorphose n'est pas changement de forme, elle n'est pas la transformation d'un être en un autre être, fût-ce d'un homme en une vermine ; elle va plus loin, elle est irrémédiable, car c'est la conscience même qui devient un matériel, c'est la pensée qui se fige en une substance gluante, visqueuse, sans contour, sans apparence, un dedans triste et vague, que nous ne pouvons saisir et qui, pourtant, comme tel, continue désespérément à penser. Tel est l'univers dans lequel nous sommes jetés, tant que nous n'essayons pas de le reprendre par une action qui nous engage. » ["It is undeniable that Sartre's art reaches its greatest power when he describes the engulfing of consciousness by the things that haunt and overwhelm them, and from which they flow like a paste full of odors. The world he perceives is one of metamorphosis, but this metamorphosis is not a change of form, it is not the transformation of one being into another being, even of a man into vermin; it goes further, it is irreparable, for it is consciousness itself that becomes material, it is thought that freezes into a sticky, viscous substance, without contour, without appearance, a sad and vague interior that we cannot grasp and which, nevertheless, as such, continues desperately to think. Such is the universe into which we are thrown, as long as we do not try to reclaim it through an action that commits us."] The third volume of Les Chemins de la liberté, not yet published, left little doubt in Blanchot's eyes as to its content; and he summarized, somewhat sarcastically: « Ce qui suivra est facile à imaginer : nous aurons la guerre, l'occupation, nous aurons la résistance, l'obscur combat, la première victoire ; et nous risquons d'avoir l'aventure de personnages assez veules et désaxés qui cherchent la liberté [...] et finiront par la vivre en s'engageant pleinement dans une action collective qu'ils acceptent. » ["What will follow is easy to imagine: we will have war, occupation, we will have resistance, the dark combat, the first victory; and we risk having the adventure of rather weak and unbalanced characters who seek freedom [...] and will end up living it by fully committing themselves to a collective action they accept."]

The manuscript contains important variants from the typescript, which testify to Blanchot's concern to use Sartrean concepts judiciously, the better to return to what preoccupied him: the use of language in literature's revolutionary vocation.

Each volume in its first edition: one of 30 numbered copies on Pur fil paper for the first, one of 14 numbered copies on Hollande for the second and third, one of 36 numbered copies on Hollande from the fourth to the ninth, one of 35 numbered copies on Hollande for the tenth and last.
Each work is presented in a brown half morocco slipcase, smooth spine slightly sunned, gilt date at the foot of spine, marbled paper boards, wood-like paper inside.

A very nice complete set in 10 volumes and a very rare collection of first editions. There were only 14 copies ever printed on Hollande paper of the second and third volumes, meaning that there are possibly only 14 complete sets in existence.

Edition from the Pléiade library printed on Bible paper.
Publisher's full brown grained sheep binding, orange top edge, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets.
Handsome copy complete with its cellophane wrapper, lacking slipcase and dust jacket.

Bibliothèque de La Pléiade edition printed on Bible paper.
Publisher's bindings in full brown grained sheep, orange top edges, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets.
Handsome copies complete with their cellophane but lacking their dust jackets and slipcases.

First edition printed in 500 numbered copies of this play created for Christmas Eve 1940 by Jean-Paul Sartre for his comrades at stalag XII D in Trier.
A small restored tear at the foot of the spine, gift inscription from a previous owner in the lower right corner of the title page.
A rare and handsome copy.

Requiem for a Nun
First edition, one of 750 numbered copies signed by the author, the only grands papiers (deluxe) copies.

Publisher's binding in half black cloth, marbled paper boards.

Autograph signature of William Faulkner on the justification page.

A beautiful copy, complete with its original acetate dust jacket.

First edition.
Other contributions by Max Jacob "Trois poèmes inédit", André Rousseaux "Le réalisme de Barrès", Roger Caillois "L'art de Saint-John Perse", Yvan Goll "Grand cortège de la résistance", le comte Sforza "Machiavel et le machiavélisme"...
Handsome copy.

First illustrated edition with color lithographs by André Masson, Fonatanarosa, Carzou, Commère, Luc Simon, Pelayo, Guiramand and Garbell. Each work, which generally occupies one volume, is illustrated by a painter. Imprimerie nationale, in Romain du roi 14-point. One of 4500 on watermarked Arches vellum, numbered 759.
Deluxe publisher's binding in full havana shagreen. Smooth spine decorated with a pattern of H's. Author's signature on upper cover. Slipcase edged in havana shagreen. One edge of volume 3 slipcase split for 8cm, otherwise superb copy in near-mint condition, perfectly fresh.

Beautiful and amusing signed manuscript letter from Roger Martin du Gard addressed from Cassis to Alice Rim (38 lines in black ink) in which he displays all his insatiable appetite for sweets.
Fold mark inherent to postal mailing.
"Cassis. February 11th, 34,
Dear Madam,
a certain Carlo, Comma, - whose infernal nerve you know - had the audacity to present himself alone (word underlined) in Cassis! (I must say that he had been conscious of the disappointment he was going to cause, and that he arrived with his arms loaded with sumptuous bags of fondant sweets and stuffed dates, from the most delicate confectioner) If anything could have consoled us for your absence, it was indeed this cargo of choice delicacies... The intention was so kind, that we did not dare reproach him for his widowhood, and that we concealed as best we could the melancholy of our regrets. I am a little ashamed to play this role of an old coquette whom one spoils by stuffing her with pralines; but "only a little," for gluttony quickly prevails over feelings of dignity that age has greatly dulled... And the said Carlo promised me, in compensation, that before the end of carnival - if by then, the sky has not fallen on our heads - you would both come to see Cassis again, and stay longer than tonight's meteoric appearance. (I would almost believe I dreamed it, if my room did not smell of pistachio and vanilla, and if my papers did not have this imposing confectioner's bag as a paperweight tonight...) May at least the Charentes be gentle to you, dear madam! I send you there, with my faithful respects, a thousand wishes for a joyful Fat Tuesday! Roger Martin du Gard".

First edition of the French translation on ordinary paper.
Boards marginally and slightly soiled
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Saul Bellow to his friend Nadine Nimier, wife and widow of Roger Nimier: "For Nadine with apologiers for the sad eyes and much love. Saul."

New edition of the French translation, following the original 1977 edition.
Covers and edges soiled, a small tear at the foot of the spine.
Rare and precious dated and signed presentation copy from Gabriel Garcia Marquez to his friend Jean-Pierre Richard, the year of his Nobel Prize : "Para Jean-Pierre, en Mexico, el dia de la entrevista. Gabriel 82."

Writer, filmmaker, translator and critic, Jean-Pierre Richard met Garcia Marquez through Salvador Allende, whose election he attended in November 1970. He became a close friend and one of the few journalists to whom the author revealed the secrets behind the composition of his masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Shortly before, Garcia Marquez had sought his friend’s help for an old film project dear to him. Sixteen years earlier, he had written a screenplay entitled Erendira, the only copy of which had been lost in the hands of filmmaker Margot Benacerraf, to whom Garcia Marquez had entrusted it. Reworked into a short story in 1972, The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother would await Garcia Marquez’s encounter with Jean-Pierre Richard to return to its cinematic destiny. It was through his French friend, a film director, that the Colombian writer met producer Alain Quefféléan and director Ruy Guerra, for whom he rewrote a new script. Erendira, released in 1983, would remain the only film adaptation of Garcia Marquez’s work in which the author was directly involved.
The “entrevista” between Richard and Garcia Marquez in August 1982 was thus an opportunity for the two friends to celebrate, in addition to Garcia Marquez’s Nobel Prize, the success of the Mexican shooting of Erendira starring Irene Papas.
A moving autograph dedication to his French friend, who enabled him to finally bring to life this long-cherished cinematic dream, and which Garcia Marquez described as “the first film to truly capture the magical realism of his prose.”

Humorous autograph postcard signed by Roger Martin du Gard addressed from Cassis to Alice Rim (21 lines in black ink) describing the Provençal winter.
"Cassis. 13 dec.33,
Dear Madam,
Thank you for these few lively and friendly pages. Don't regret Cassis. It's freezing here. Not that it's as cold as elsewhere, but we don't know how to heat ourselves. The "Réserve" is empty. There we find a drowsy son-in-law, alone, roasting his shins by the big central stove stuffed like a locomotive and smoking just the same. The port is deserted. I believe the Mediterranean (sic) is carrying ice floes. (To be verified...) Congratulations to Carlo Rim for the Marraine articles, of inimitable quality. I hope he will continue the series. I give him 20 out of 20! ... Give him all my friendship, to which I add my very sympathetic regards. R.M.G.""

Autograph postcard signed by Frédéric Mistral addressed to Emile Straus written in black ink on the reverse of a black and white photographic representation of an Arlésienne in profile.
A great enthusiast of epistolary art, Emile Straus founded in 1899 La Carte postale illustrée, the newsletter of the association he had just launched, the International Poste-Carte Club.

First French edition on ordinary paper.
Small light stains on the spine and front cover.
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Saul Bellow to his friend Nadine Nimier, wife and widow of Roger Nimier: "For my dear friend Nadine : for her kind eyes. Saul."

First edition.
A light dampstain at head of spine, foxing to spine and boards.
Inscribed by Patrick Modiano to Luc Estang.

First edition first issue for which no grand papier (deluxe copies) were printed, one of the rare service de presse (advance copies).
Some very discreet restorations to spine, paper browned, some discreet traces folds at the bottom of some leaves.

A handsome copy, as issued. The book is housed in a slipcase signed by Julie Nadot, reproducing the original design of the cover and spine.

This first edition of L'Étranger was printed on 21 April, 1942 with a run of 4,400 copies: 400 advance copies (service de presse), 500 copies without statement and 3,500 copies with false statements from the second to eighth “edition”.
The advance copies, not intended for sale, do not include the indi­cation of price [25 francs] on the back of the cover.

First edition of the theatrical adaptation by Albert Camus, one of 65 numbered copies on pure thread paper, deluxe copy.
A transverse crease mark at the foot of the rear board.
Handsome copy.

First edition in volume form, one of 300 numbered copies on Holland paper, the only issue along with 60 copies on rough paper called 'Chandelle' and 30 on Whatman.
Rare and handsome copy.

First edition in volume form, one of 300 numbered copies on Holland paper, the only edition along with 60 copies on rough paper called 'Chandelle' and 30 on Whatman.
A rare and handsome copy.

First edition in volume form, one of 300 numbered copies on Holland paper, the only edition along with 60 copies on rough paper called 'Chandelle' and 30 on Whatman.
A rare and handsome copy.

First edition in volume, one of 300 numbered copies on Holland paper, the only printing with 60 coarse paper called 'Chandelle' and 30 Whatman.
Rare and handsome copy.

First edition, one of 155 numbered copies on pure paper, the only deluxe copies after 50 on Holland paper.
Fine copy.

First edition, one of 40 numbered copies on vellum, the only printing after 1 pure rag lutétia cream and 10 Holland.
Handsome copy.

First edition in French, of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Two stains to lower right corner of front cover.
Signed and dated autograph inscription from Pablo Neruda to Dr. Pellerin.

Edition with most parts in first edition, one of 525 numbered copies on pure linen paper, deluxe copy after 85 on Holland paper.
Handsome copy.

Edition with most parts in first edition, one of 1040 numbered copies on alfama paper, the only deluxe copies after 50 on pure linen paper.
Publisher's binding executed after the original design by Paul Bonet.
Fine copy despite the spine being slightly sunned as usual.

First edition, one of 2050 numbered copies on vélin labeur paper.
Publisher's boards bound according to the original design by Paul Bonet.
Handsome copy despite the spine very lightly sunned as usual.

First edition, one of 120 numbered copies on laid paper, the only deluxe copies after 36 on Holland paper.
Handsome copy.

First edition, one of 60 numbered copies on pur fil paper, deluxe copies after 15 on Hollande paper.
Handsome copy.

First edition, one of 120 numbered copies on pur fil, the only deluxe copies after 36 on Holland paper.
Handsome copy.

First edition, one of 120 numbered copies on pure linen paper, the only deluxe copies after 36 Holland.
Handsome copy.

First edition.
Publisher's binding in full brown grained sheep, orange top edge, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets.
Rich iconography.
Fine copy complete with its protective jacket and slipcase.

First edition, one of 120 numbered copies on wove paper, the only deluxe copies after 36 on Holland paper.
Handsome copy.

First edition, one of 120 numbered copies on wove paper, the only deluxe copies after 36 on Holland paper.
Handsome copy.

First edition.
Publisher's full brown grained sheep binding, orange top edge, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets.
Rich iconography.
Handsome copy complete with its dust jacket and cellophane wrapper, lacking the flexible slipcase.

Bibliothèque de La Pléiade edition printed on Bible paper.
Publisher's binding in full brown grained sheep, orange top edge, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets.
Handsome copy complete with its rhodoid dust jacket, slipcase lacking.

Pléiade library edition printed on India paper.
Publisher's full brown grained sheep binding, orange top edge, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets.
Fine copy complete with its glassine wrapper and dust jacket; the flexible slipcase is lacking.

First edition, one of 155 numbered copies on pur fil, the only deluxe copies after 50 on Holland paper.
Fine copy.

Voyage au Congo suivi de Retour du Tchad
First collective edition of two journeys in Africa by André Gide published successively in 1927 and 1928. First edition, grand papier (deluxe copy) with 64 photographs by Marc Allégret printed in sepia and four maps. One of 28 numbered copies on japon impérial, the tirage de tête.
Our copy includes the 1928 colophon of first issue copies on japon impérial. Copies printed on Arches bear the date 1929 (Bibliographie des écrits d'André Gide, Arnold Naville).
The high ink absorption quality of papier japon and its affinity with color make it the ideal medium for Marc Allégret's famous sepia heliographed photographs.
White aniline calf with gilt titanium joints, ink-painted boards and spine in green, yellow and red, colors of the Republic of the Congo-Brazzaville flag, decoration continuing edge-to-edge on the liners, loose endpapers on papier japon dyed with Kakishibu by the binder, title lengthwise on the spine, decorated chemise titled on the spine, and matching custom slipcase. Wrappers and spine preserved.
Binding signed by Julie Auzillon, gilt title by Geneviève Quarré de Boiry and gilt top edge by Jean-Luc Bongrain (2022).
Very scarce tirage de tête on papier japon of this masterpiece book of photographs and the first account of travel to these very remote territories of central Africa by an intellectual, and outspoken critic of colonialism.
Unique copy set in a stunning art binding, in the colors of the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville.

First edition in French, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy, with newspaper clipping included.
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Saul Bellow to his friend Nadine Nimier, wife and widow of Roger Nimier.

First edition of each volume, with print runs varying from 297 to 1,250 numbered copies on pur fil paper, the only deluxe copies along with the reimposed editions.
Spine of the fifth volume split, printed "nrf" mention scratched on the back cover of the first volume of the seventh part.
Rare and handsome complete set with publisher's slip.
Autograph inscription dated 1929 and signed by Roger Martin du Gard, on a loose leaf: tribute from the author, absent from Paris, to Robert de Saint-Jean.

Second edition of this special issue devoted to American writers and poets.
Handsome copy.
Contributions by Thomas Stearns Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein, William Saroyan, William Carlos Williams, Allen Tate, E.E. Cummings, Erskine Caldwell, André Gide, Julien Green...

First edition of the French translation, one of 25 numbered copies on vélin dap-cau, the only deluxe copies.
Spine and boards lightly and marginally lightened as usual.

First edition on ordinary paper.
Preface letter by Jean-Paul Sartre.
Signed autograph inscription from Francis Jeanson to Doctor Jean Schneider.

First edition of this issue of N.r.f. entirely devoted to André Gide, one of 1200 copies on laid paper, the only deluxe copies after 100 on Holland paper.
Contributions by André Gide with unpublished texts, by Saint-John Perse, Jean Giono, Paul Valéry, Jean Cocteau, Paul Léautaud, Jean Paulhan, Ernst Jünger, John Steinbeck, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Thomas Mann...
Work illustrated with a photographic portrait of André Gide.
Handsome copy despite small black spots on the second cover and occasional foxing on the fore edge.

First edition printed on ordinary paper.
A handsome copy.
Signed autograph inscription from Patrick Modiano to Françoise Ducourt.
Signed autograph inscriptions by Patrick Modiano, who cares little for notoriety and is sparing with dedication sessions, are rare.

First edition published in the Bibliothèque de La Pléiade and printed on Bible paper.
Rich iconography.
Small harmless stains on the lower edge of the slipcase.
Handsome copy

First edition of which only 25 deluxe copies were printed, one of the Service de Presse (advance) copies.
Spine and boards slightly and marginally yellowed, otherwise handsome copy considering the poor quality of this wartime paper.

First edition on ordinary paper.
Bradel binding in half almond green cloth, smooth spine decorated with gilt fleuron, date and double gilt fillet at foot, brown shagreen title-label, marbled paper boards, covers and spine preserved, contemporary binding signed in blind by Stroobants.
Handsome copy attractively bound.

First edition on ordinary paper.
Bradel binding in half almond green cloth, smooth spine decorated with gilt fleuron, date and double gilt fillet at foot, brown shagreen title-label, marbled paper boards, original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding signed in blind by Carayon.
Endpapers partially shaded.
Handsome copy attractively bound.

First edition on ordinary paper.
Bradel binding in half almond green cloth, smooth spine decorated with gilt fleuron, double gilt fillet at foot, brown shagreen title-label, marbled paper boards, original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding signed in blind by Carayon.
Minor foxing to endpapers.
Handsome copy attractively bound.

First edition, one of 106 numbered copies on Holland, the “tirage de tête”.
A beautiful copy of this important text in the work of Albert Camus: although published posthumously, it is indeed his first novel which is considered a first “draft” of L'Etranger.

First edition printed on ordinary paper.
Handsome copy.
Signed autograph inscription from Patrick Modiano to a woman named Marie-Françoise.
Signed autograph inscriptions by Patrick Modiano, little concerned with fame and sparing with dedication sessions, are rare.

First edition, one of 362 numbered copies on pur fil paper, deluxe issue with 20 on Holland paper.
Handsome full-margined copy.

New "first edition", printed in 500 copies on laid Arches paper and consisting of the second printing of this text (completed on June 20, 1911).
This edition, published less than a month after the original which appeared on May 29, 1911, is considered the first edition of this text, as the latter was almost entirely destroyed, André Gide being dissatisfied with the printing because three pages did not have the regular number of lines.
Half brown morocco binding with corners, spine with five raised bands set with black fillets, date and binder's name gilt at foot, pebbled paper boards, combed paper endpapers and pastedowns, bookplate pasted on one pastedown, blue covers and spine unfaded as generally preserved, top edge gilt, elegant contemporary binding signed Huser.
Precious autograph inscription signed by André Gide to the symbolist poet André Fontainas written at Cuverville on July 3rd.
Handsome copy perfectly established.

First edition, one of 3000 copies on alfa vellum, the only deluxe copies after 120 on pur fil.
Spine and boards yellowed, handsome interior condition.

First edition, one of 90 numbered copies on Holland paper, deluxe issue.
A very handsome full-margined copy.

First edition, one of 90 numbered copies on Holland paper, deluxe issue.
A very handsome full-margined copy.

First Japanese edition translated by Tadashi Tsuzumi.
Full blue craft paper binding, with its printed dust jacket featuring an antique map, a tear at the top of the upper cover
Very handsome copy containing a publisher's advertising leaflet.
Very rare autograph inscription by Gabriel Garcia Marquez calligraphed vertically in the Japanese manner to actress Claudine Auger, the first French James Bond girl: "Para Claudine con un besote. Gabriel." ["For Claudine with a big kiss. Gabriel."]

First edition.
Publisher's binding in full brown grained sheep, orange top edge, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets.
Rich iconography.
Handsome copy complete with its dust jacket, glassine wrapper and soft slipcase slightly split at head.

New edition of the French translation.
Handsome copy complete with its dust jacket, slightly and marginally sunned at the head of the covers.
Rare and precious autograph inscription signed by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on his masterpiece: "Für J.J. Piot".

Second edition published just over a month after the first edition and of which there were no deluxe copies.
Spine very lightly sunned with a small stain at head.
Rare autograph inscription signed by Patrick Modiano to Anne Germain on this text.

First edition of the French translation established by Jean and André Camp, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Two small tears at foot of spine very slightly sunned.
Beautiful autograph inscription dated and signed by Miguel Angel Asturias to René Wilmet enhanced with André Camp's signature.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy.
A bookseller's label from Mexico pasted on the front endpaper.

First edition printed in 500 numbered copies, ours being one of the 250 hors commerce copies reserved for the author.
A handsome copy.

First edition of the French translation, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy.
Autograph inscription signed by Günter Grass, in German, to Jean Jubremont.

First edition printed in 162 copies, ours one of 150 numbered copies on tinted vellum, the only issue with 12 on Whatman.
Bradel binding in half emerald green morocco, smooth spine stamped with gilt title lettered lengthwise, pebbled paper boards, front cover preserved, binding signed P. Goy and C. Vilaine.
Signed autograph inscription from André Gide "au poëte Angiolo Orvieto en témoignage de sympathie" ["to the poet Angiolo Orvieto in testimony of sympathy"].
Rare testimony to his relationship with Angiolo Orvieto, Florentine poet and librettist, who founded the periodical Il Marzocco in 1896, and devoted a study to the writer the following year.
The two poets were united by their admiration for Chopin, who inspired Orvieto to write an opera and Gide his Notes sur Chopin (1948).

Signed autograph postcard from Thomas Mann addressed to Friedrich Karl Roedemeyer, written on both sides in black ink.
Professor Friedrich Karl Roedemeyer (1894-1947) taught linguistics at Frankfurt University where he invited Thomas Mann for the Goethe Festival.
This is a letter of apology from the writer announcing that he will unfortunately not be able to give the lecture he was supposed to deliver.

Autograph manuscript of two draft responses to readers of France Observateur following the publication of the article entitled "Quand la police frappe les trois coups" written in blue ink on five ruled sheets. Deletions and corrections. The article, published in 1957, was reproduced in 1965 in Situations 7 Problèmes de marxisme 2. In this article, Sartre protests against the prefectural ban on performing La Reine de Césarée by Robert Brasillach, under pressure from resistance fighters, deportees and children of deportees, and against police pressures exerted against theatrical plays by Fabre-Luce and Jean Genet.
Interesting drafts, in which the philosopher invites M. Ginsburgh to stage Le Balcon himself: "Mais puisqu'il ne dément rien de ce que j'ai dit, je me borne pour l'instant à considérer sa lettre comme une confirmation tacite de mon article. Par reste, M. Ginsburgh a l'occasion de me confondre avec éclat : que ne monte-t-il pas le Balcon ? Ce n'est pas un défi, c'est une proposition honnête : si le Balcon est joué sur la scène du théâtre d'Aujourd'hui, je ferai ici même des excuses à M. Ginsburgh et au directeur de l'Alliance Française." ["But since he does not deny anything I have said, I limit myself for now to considering his letter as a tacit confirmation of my article. Furthermore, M. Ginsburgh has the opportunity to confound me brilliantly: why doesn't he stage Le Balcon? This is not a challenge, it is an honest proposition: if Le Balcon is performed on the stage of the Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui, I will make apologies here to M. Ginsburgh and to the director of the Alliance Française."] Fabre-Luce himself seems to have also written to Sartre after the publication of the article: "Pour M. Fabre-Luce, même réponse : je le remercie de confirmer tacitement les informations que j'avais données sur sa pièce. Il n'ose nier la présence de la police. En témoignage de gratitude, je prends acte, il déclare simplement qu'il ne l'a pas appelée lui-même. [...] M. Fabre-Luce, fort de son succès antérieur, ne craignait rien. La préfecture de police, elle, qui devait être au courant de ce succès, craignait pour M. Fabre-Luce. On voudrait connaître les origines de cette touchante sollicitude. Ce qui compte, c'est beau." ["For M. Fabre-Luce, same response: I thank him for tacitly confirming the information I had given about his play. He dares not deny the presence of the police. As a token of gratitude, I take note, he simply declares that he did not call them himself. [...] M. Fabre-Luce, confident from his previous success, feared nothing. The police prefecture, however, which must have been aware of this success, feared for M. Fabre-Luce. One would like to know the origins of this touching solicitude. What matters is beautiful."]
The two letters received by the philosopher were not attached to this draft response, but we have the letter from Gilles Martinet of France Observateur which forwards said readers' responses to Sartre.
Important drafts, testimony to the care with which the Saint-Germain thinker responded to his commentators.

Blast – Review of the Great English Vortex, n° 1 & 2 June 1914 & July 1915 First edition of this rare and short-lived Vorticist magazine published only twice.
Rare.
Full red cloth Bradel binding, spine with title and date in black, original wrappers preserved.

Molloy, “personnage” de Beckett First edition of the master's thesis presented by Janine Brun under the direction of Robert Mauzi.
A pleasant copy.
Precious handwritten inscription dated and signed by Samuel Beckett to Janine Brun: “Pour Janine Brun, mes meilleurs vœux. Samuel Beckett. Paris Février 1981.” (“For Janine Brun, my best wishes. Samuel Beckett. Paris February 1981.”)

First edition, one of the copies on Japon.
Texts by Jules Renard, Anatole France, Sully-Prudhomme, Gustave Geffroy, Louis Tynaire, Gabriel Séailles, René Binet, Georges Renard...
Lithographed or wood-engraved illustrations in red and black by Eugène Carrière, Félix Régamey, Carlos Schwabe, Georges Rochegrosse, Alfred Lenoir, Auguste and Georges Leroux, Daniel Vierge, Charles Fouqueray, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen, Lucien Vogel, Charles Léandre, Henri Fantin-Latour, Eugène Grasset, Alexandre Lunois, Georges Scott...
Bradel binding in full paper, palladium title on smooth spine, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, covers and spine preserved, top edge palladium.
Handsome copy attractively bound.

First edition of the theatrical adaptation by Albert Camus, one of 65 numbered copies on pur fil paper, deluxe issue.
Bradel binding in half bronze box calf, abstract patterned paper boards, smooth spine, covers and spine preserved, binding signed Thomas Boichot.