Prestigious Designation of Provenance

First edition of the prophecies of Isaiah in Antoine-Eugène Genoude's translation, with a dedication to the King, a preliminary discourse on Hebrew poetry and on Isaiah, and notes on the eloquence of Holy Scripture. Copy bound without "La délivrance d'Israël", "Chœur imité de l'Écriture", "À Son Altesse Royale Madame, Duchesse d'Angoulême", the table of contents, and the errata leaf.

Fine binding in full long-grained red morocco, gilt roll-tooled border alternating lotus, palmettes, and fleurs-de-lys on the covers, gilt arms of Charles X at the center of each cover, smooth spine with five compartments, special small gilt tools depicting a bow...

First edition.
Contemporary Bradel binding in full Empire-green cloth, smooth spine decorated with a gilt fleurion, date and double gilt fillet at foot, black morocco lettering-piece with a small marginal loss, original wrappers preserved, corners very slightly rubbed, without consequence, contemporary binding signed Durvand.

Precious signed presentation copy from Alphonse Daudet to the distinguished historian of the Napoleonic era and fellow member of the Académie française, Frédéric Masson.

Provenance: from the library of Émile Henriot, with his manuscript ex-libris beside the binder's name at the head of an endpaper ; on the facing page appears...

First edition of the English translation of "De Logomachiis eruditorum" (Amsterdam, 1688) by the Swiss Reformed theologian Samuel Werenfels (1657–1740), a notably engaging essay on the obstacles to concord among Christians created by the endless disputes over the terminology used to define points of belief.

A few small spots of foxing.

Full speckled fawn calf, the spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and gilt tools; rubbing to the spine, the gilt title almost entirely effaced, headcaps trimmed down with a small loss to the tailcap; gilt double-fillet border with gilt corner tools on the covers; some wear to the board edges...

First edition, published in Paris by Bossange frères in December 1823, illustrated with an engraved frontispiece and four engraved portraits drawn from life by Olivier Voutier himself and engraved on copper by Normand fils. Cf. Loukia Droulia, 429; Blackmer, 1751; not in Atabey.

Contemporary half black shagreen, sympathetically restored spine with four raised bands ruled in triple gilt fillets, aubergine paper-covered boards, gilt armorial stamp to the upper cover. Boards...

First edition on standard paper.

A handsome copy, complete with its publisher’s wraparound band.

Fine presentation inscription signed by Milan Kundera: "Paris 1998. Pour Michel Tournier avec l'amitié fidèle de Milan Kundera."

First edition, issued without any deluxe paper copies.

Occasional marginal tears to upper part of front cover, small lacks of paper to spine-ends, lack of paper to the lower left corner of the lower cover, and a small snag to lower part of lower cover.

Exceptional presentation copy from one woman writer to another, addressed by Georges de Peyrebrune to Jane Catulle Mendès: "pour mon exquise confrère / pour ma charmante amie / Madame Catulle Mendès / En souvenir / Peyrebrune".

First editions by Peyrebrune and even more so her inscribed copies are decidedly scarce: "it is still very difficult to find Peyrebrune's books nowadays" (Sophie...

First edition on ordinary paper.

Pages 10–11 lightly sunned owing to the presence of a newspaper clipping.

Fine presentation inscription signed by André Pieyre de Mandiargues: "à  Michel Tournier en très cordiale sympathie. André PM."

New edition, partly original, revised, corrected and enlarged.

Bound in full red morocco, spines with five raised bands decorated with gilt garlands and compartments adorned with crowned “LL” monograms, gilt rolls on the caps, triple gilt fillets framing the covers, gilt armorial stamps of Louis XV at the centre of each board, gilt dentelle border on the turn-ins, gilt fillets along the edges, marbled edges. Slightly rubbed corners. Contemporary bindings.

Some leaves slightly yellowed, minor paper flaw on page 101 of the second volume.

Extensive and highly useful table of contents at the end of the second volume. Jean-Antoine Soulatges, lawyer at the Parliament of...

First edition, printed on vélin d’Angoulême, with the usual typographical errors, and containing the six banned poems; one of the few author’s copies “intended for friends who render no literary services”.

Full bordeaux red morocco binding, spine with five raised bands richly decorated with multiple gilt- and blind-tooled fillets; third-state covers; boards framed with multiple blind-tooled fillets; marbled endpapers; gilt turn-ins; all edges gilt; marbled paper slipcase with morocco border; signed binding by Semet & Plumelle.

First edition on ordinary paper.

Half black long-grain morocco binding, smooth spine tooled in palladium with author, title, and date, anthracite-grey paper boards, original wrappers and spine preserved (the latter with two small stains at head and foot), endpapers and pastedowns of anthracite-grey paper, binding signed Thomas Boichot.

Precious and exceptional signed presentation inscription by Louis-Ferdinand Céline: "A Mac Orlan son admirateur et ami fidèle. LFerd"

First edition, illustrated with four plates, including a folding world map (cf. Sinkankas 3466; Agassiz III, 370).

Full fawn calf, spine with five slender raised bands, gilt-tooled compartments with occasionally softened floral tools, rubbed gilt headcaps, brown morocco lettering-piece, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle framing the pastedowns, gilt fillets to board edges, marbled edges, contemporary binding.

Repairs to the spine, one joint split at head and foot, browning along the board margins with surface scratches, scattered foxing, a waterstain at the head of all leaves.

A noteworthy treatise devoted to yellow amber and above all to ambergris, the...

First edition of this periodical, the inaugural volume of which appeared in 1776. Publication continued until 1789 and ultimately comprised 112 volumes; sets are consequently very difficult to assemble, particularly in uniform bindings.

Copy bearing unidentified arms.

Contemporary full brown sheep. Smooth gilt-decorated spine. Red morocco lettering-piece and volume label. Upper cover stamped with armorial devices. Headcaps defective in five places. Various abrasions. A few early cracks at the head of the joints.

First edition, one of 500 copies on ordinary paper.
This copy has a chemise and slipcase.
A little light spotting, not serious, nice copy.
Retaining its advertising band and slip.
Handsome autograph inscription signed by René Char: “à Man Ray au voyant carnassier de tout cœur R. Char.” (“To Man Ray to the carnivorous fortune teller, with all my heart, R. Char.”)

First edition, with no deluxe-paper copies printed.
Illustrations.

A handsome copy despite the slightly faded spine.

Precious and fine signed presentation copy from Louis Aragon to Maurice Druon: "A Maurice Druon, pour qu'il sache que de temps je m'égarée dans Césarée. [sic] Louis".

First edition, one of 160 hors commerce copies on Lana vellum, ours being one of 60 hors commerce copies, the only deluxe issue.

Half long-grain black morocco binding, smooth spine lettered with the author’s name, title, date, and the palladium inscription “EX. JOSEPH KESSEL 1958”, wood-patterned paper boards, grey endpapers and pastedowns, wrappers and spine preserved, binding signed by Thomas Boichot.

Some foxing, mainly affecting the wrappers and the first and last leaves.

Exceptional and moving signed autograph presentation from Maurice Druon to Joseph Kessel: "A toi mon grand Jef, cet Alexandre le grand né lui aussi sous le signe du...

First edition of the third series of Andersen’s tales. Two parts in one volume, published respectively on 30 March and 23 November 1872, each bearing an inscription by Andersen. He mentions the first in his diary (H. C. Andersens dagbøger, vol. IX, p. 247) and the second is recorded by Henry Tuxen (Anderseniana, vol. 4, 1958-59, p. 155).

Red cloth half binding, flat spine faded with gilt title and ruled in black, black cloth boards. First board with a slight lenghtwise crack, spine-ends and corners rubbed, small lack of material at the margin of the first board.

First edition on ordinary paper.

A pleasant copy.

Precious signed autograph inscription from André Pieyre de Mandiargues: "A Henri Michaux le coeur de son vieil ami André Pieyre de Mandiargues" enriched with Yvonne Caroutch’s handwritten signature.

First edition, one of the review copies stamped "M.F." on the front cover and numbered in the colophon.

Small restored tears to the spine and upper part of the front cover, slight traces of creasing to the margins of the front cover.

Precious inscribed copy signed by Louis Pergaud to J.H. Rosny jeune, one of the historic members of the Goncourt Prize jury. Pergaud had won the 1910 Goncourt for his collection of short stories De Goupil à Margot.

First edition on ordinary paper.

Half red morocco binding, spine with five raised bands framed with gilt fillets and decorated with double gilt panels, gilt lettering at the foot of the spine reading "Ex. de Sainte-Beuve", double gilt fillets on the marbled paper boards, small black spots on the covers, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved, gilt edges.

Scattered foxing.

Precious autograph inscription signed by Auguste Brizeux: "A Sainte-Beuve, au poète et à l'ami. A. Brizeux."

First edition.
Contemporary half red shagreen over marbled paper boards, (a few discreet repairs), spine in six compartments, date to foot, marbled paper-lined endpapers and pastedowns, covers preserved, top edge red.
A very handsome autograph inscription signed by Victor Hugo to Alphonse Daudet.
Mrs. Daudet's collection stamp to first endpaper.

Victor Hugo represented for Alphonse Daudet, as for the other writers of his generation, the incontestable master of the Pantheon of the arts. His benevolent attention runs through Daudet's work, often listed side by side with Rousseau, Byron, Sand and Delacroix.
If during Daudet's childhood and youth, Hugo, an...

First edition, of which there were no large paper copies.

Complete with dj (slightly sunned at edges of spine and covers), small tears to head of upper cover. 
Handsome autograph inscription, signed and dated by Canetti to Raymond Queneau : " Für Raymond Queneau aus Freude über eine unerwartete Begegnung, Juni 1951 [for Raymond Queneau, the pleasure of an unexpected meeting, June 1951]".

First edition, one of the review copies.

Slight sunning at head and foot of spine, without seriousness.

Precious signed presentation from Francis Ponge: "Pour Marthe et Henri Calet leur ami. Francis Ponge."

First edition, an advance (service de presse) copy.
Covers and spine very skillfully repaired.
Handsome autograph inscription from Pierre Drieu La Rochelle to Henri Béraud.

First edition, one of the review copies.
Bradel binding in full wood-patterned boards, smooth spine, red morocco title-piece, covers and spine preserved, binding signed by Thomas Boichot.

A fine copy, handsomely bound.
Precious autograph presentation signed by Jacques Chardonne to Henri Béraud.

First edition.
Elegant half navy blue morocco over marbled paper boards by Pierre-Lucien Martin, spine in six compartments with gilt fillets to bands and geometric decoration of red morocco onlays, date gilt at foot of spine, gilt fillet to boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dentelle frame to pastedowns, covers and spine preserved, top edge gilt.

A very good copy in a handsome binding. 
Exceptional autograph inscription from Claude Farrère : "A Pierre Louÿs son très petit disciple [To Pierre Louÿs, his very humble disciple]", along with Chinese ideograms.

First edition, one of 1,200 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only large paper copies after 50 on Marais.

Spine very slightly faded as usual.
Handsome autograph inscription signed by Henri Michaux to Raymond Queneau.

First edition, with an autograph letter signed by Louise Colet bound in, 3 pages on a bifolium mounted on a stub at the head of the volume. A few small foxing spots, a very pale marginal dampstain affecting the last leaves.
Half black morocco binding with corners, spine with five raised bands framed by blind double fillets, date at the foot, marbled paper sides, vat-made paper endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved and mounted on a stub (small corner losses restored), elegant binding signed Patrice Goy.
Rare presentation copy to the marquise de Boissy, Teresa Guiccioli who was the mistress of Louise Colet's husband (!) and...

First edition, one of the press copies.
Half brown shagreen binding, smooth spine with gilt floral panels, gilt initials C.T. at foot, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers, covers preserved, gilt edges, one upper corner slightly rubbed, binding dating from some years later.
Inscribed by Charles Terrasse (son of Claude) in ink at the head of a flyleaf.

Discreet restorations to the joints.
Precious presentation copy signed and inscribed by Alfred Jarry: "A Claude Terrasse son admirateur et son ami. Alf. Jarry" [his admirer and friend]

 

First edition, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Some worming to margins of covers.
Precious autograph inscription signed by Marcel Aymé: "A monsieur Valery Larbaud en sincère hommage. Marcel Aymé." ["To Mr. Valery Larbaud with sincere homage. Marcel Aymé."]
 

First edition, one of the review copies.

Some light foxing to the spine and along the edges of the covers, a pleasing copy given the poor quality of the paper.

Inscribed by Raymond Queneau to Dominique Aury.

First edition on ordinary paper.

A moving and appealing copy.

Fine signed autograph presentation inscription from Dominique de Roux to his brother: "Pour mon cher Xavier père et maître des circonvolutions de ce récit. Et sans qui la vie n'aurait aucun sens. Affection fraternelle. Dominique."

First edition, a numbered copy on alfa du Marais paper, this one not included in the justification.
Handsome autograph inscription signed and dated by Aimé Césaire to Raymond Queneau: “Très sympathique hommage de ces bucoliques de sang et de soleil... [a very affectionate homage of these bucolics of blood and sunshine...]”
Covers and spine slightly sunned at edges (but not seriously).

First edition of Breviarum studiosorum, Prague and Nuremberg, Johann Fridriech Rutiger, 1744 [with] New edition of De arte rhetorica. Cologne, Wilhelm Metternich, 1723 [with] Ars rhetorica. Cologne, Wilhelm Metternich, 1725. New edition.

Contemporary German binding in full blonde sheep. Smooth spine richly decorated and unlettered. Boards entirely covered with rococo ornaments forming a decorative composition. Edges gilt. Traces of ties. Lacking at one tie location. Tail slightly and partially worn. 3 corners bumped.

Rich rococo prize binding with very fine arms on the...

First edition, with no mention of deluxe paper copies.
Precious signed autograph inscription from Octave Mirbeau to his friend Jules Renard.
Blue pencil mark by Jules Renard on the front cover.
Our copy is further enriched with Jules Renard's celebrated ex-libris, designed and engraved by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Rare first edition.

Small tears and corner losses to the spine and boards.

Signed autograph inscription from Joseph Louis Trouessart to Sainte-Beuve on the half-title.

First edition of the French translation, for which no deluxe copies were issued.
Precious autograph presentation inscription signed by Italo Calvino to his friend, the Argentine photographer José María “Pepe” Fernández.
Our copy is further enriched with an original photograph by Pepe Fernández depicting Italo Calvino leaning on a stack of books.
Signed by the photographer at the foot of the image, with handwritten notes and Pepe Fernández’s stamp on the verso.
Double autograph signature of Pepe Fernández on the front endpaper and the title page as presentation inscriptions, spine faded.

First edition on ordinary paper, with no mention of large paper copies.

Occasional light spotting, a small angular lack to half-title.
Elegant pastiche marbled paper Bradel binding by Thomas Boichot, brown morocco title label, covers preserved.
Handsome autograph inscription signed by the author: "A Guy de Maupassant, son ami [For Guy de Maupassant, his friend]."

First edition on ordinary paper.

A small nick on the spine, slightly split at the foot.
Precious signed autograph inscription from Jean Giraudoux to André Gide: "... avec gratitude..."

First edition printed on alfa paper.

A small tear at the foot of one joint discreetly restored, a pleasant copy.
Precious autograph inscription signed by Philippe Soupault to René Crevel in pencil.

First edition, one of 500 numbered copies on Featherweight, the only deluxe issue.
Small loss and foxing to the headcap and upper edge, a crease and minor tears to the front cover, endpapers slightly toned without consequence.
Exceptional signed autograph presentation from Benjamin Fondane: « A Jacques Prévert cordialement. B. Fondane. Paris / 3 / 33. »

First edition, one of 20 deluxe copies on Holland paper, the only large-paper issue, reimposed in octavo, while the ordinary edition was issued in duodecimo. Vicaire and Carteret record 25 copies; the printed justification on the verso of the half-title in the present copy, however, states 20. Cf. Vicaire III, 305-306; Carteret I, 222.

Contemporary full stiff ivory vellum, smooth spine with longitudinal printed title, marbled-paper endleaves and pastedowns. A fine copy.

A particularly desirable signed autograph presentation inscription appears on the half-title...

Second edition only one month after the first edition.
Spine lightly wrinkled, small signs of folding in the margins of the boards, a light mark on the second board.

Claude Couffon, a French specialist and translator of the major Spanish-speaking writers of the second half of the 20th century, translated...

First edition.
Half beige cloth Bradel binding, flat spine, date at foot, black shagreen title-piece skillfully restored, marbled paper boards, contemporary binding.
Inscribed by Guy de Maupassant to his friend the writer Catulle Mendès.
A fine copy, attractively bound.
Provenance: from the library of Arthur Christian with his bookplates on the front pastedown.

Autograph letter from George Sand to Gustave Flaubert dated December 21, 1867, 8 pages on two lined leaves. Published in Sand's Correspondance, XX, pp. 642-645.
From one of the finest literary correspondences of the century, this letter written on Christmas Eve 1867 is a sublime testament to the frank friendship between George Sand, the “old troubadour”, and Gustave Flaubert, christened “cul de plomb” [leaden ass] after declining his invitation to Nohant to complete L'Éducation sentimentale.

Despite their seventeen year-age gap, opposing temperaments...

Vérédishtad [Paris], chez les marchands de nouveautés, undated [before 1814]. Three parts in four octavo volumes.

Contemporary Bradel-style bindings in full aubergine boards imitating straight-grain morocco, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets, rolls and floral tools, with the crowned cipher of Louis-Philippe d'Orléans at the head. Entirely untrimmed. The final two volumes remain unopened. Complete with the...

First edition of this rare album, published in Lyon in 1861 by the press of Louis Perrin, illustrated with 15 line-engraved plates under captioned tissue guards. At the front appears a facsimile of the portrait of Chenavard drawn by Ingres in Rome in 1818; the remaining plates, engraved by Dubouchet, Séon and Thomassin, reproduce a selection of drawings made during his formative journey through Italy, Sicily and Istria.

Contemporary half green calf with corners, spine with four raised bands...

First edition describing 1,271 objects, illustrated with 3 full-page line-engraved plates.

Inscribed on the upper cover with a signed autograph presentation from François Lenormant to the eighth Duke of Luynes (1802–1867).

Minor foxing, light creasing to the upper cover.

New edition, adorned with a portrait of the author by Daullé, three headpieces by de Sève engraved by Juste Chevillet, twelve plates engraved by Jacques Aliamet, Jean-Jacques Flipart, Noël Le Mire, Louis-Simon Lempereur, Dominique Sornique, and Jacques-Nicolas Tardieu, and thirteen vignettes and sixty tail-pieces, all by de Sève engraved by Jean-Charles Baquoy, Jean-Jacques Flipart, and Louis Legrand.

A superb copy of the first luxury edition of Racine, among the most sought-after, bound in the most sumptuous red morocco.

Contemporary full red morocco, spine with five raised bands and gilt compartments, triple gilt fillet border, corner fleurons, yellow...

First edition, illustrated with 6 folding plates at the end of the volume (cf. Polak 5375).

Contemporary Bradel binding in full red boards, flat spine, black shagreen label with gilt lettering, the upper cover stamped in gilt with the monogram of Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, stepson of Napoleon. Lower corners a bit rubbed. Period binding.

A few minor spots, not affecting legibility.

Only two copies listed in the CCF (BnF and École Polytechnique).

The only edition of this insightful analysis of French naval doctrine at the close of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, significantly bearing the motto on the title page: Delenda est Britannia. Charles-Louis-Victor...

First edition, no grands papiers (deluxe) copies printed.
Half brown sheepskin, spine with four raised bands framed in blind and dec­orated with gilt floral motifs, some rubbing to the spine, marbled paper boards, marbled paper endpapers and flyleaves, modest contemporary bind­ing.

Rare signed and inscribed copy by Guy de Maupassant to the Baron de Vaux who inspired the character of Bel-Ami: “To Baron de Vaux / his friend / Guy de Maupassant”.

First edition, one of the 300 numbered copies printed on red “bouffant” paper, the only deluxe issue alongside 5 copies on hollande. Covers slightly and marginally soiled, two initials in red ink in the upper left corner of the front cover.

Illustrated with a “portrait de crotte de bique et couillandouille par eux-mêmes” [portrait of goat-dropping and dick-and-drumstick by themselves.]

Very famous work from the Dadaist canon, written by Pansaers one year before his untimely death — the...

First edition, one of the review copies.

Spine and covers faded, small chips to the corners of the covers and margins of some leaves, brittle and yellowed paper, front free endpaper detached, a delicate copy.

Exceptional and moving signed autograph inscription by Raymond Guérin: "Pour vous mon cher Calet ces Poulpes où vous savez tout ce que j'ai mis de foi et de désespoir. avec l'admiration et l'amitié du grand Dab. R. Guérin 11.5.53. P.S. Nous sommes au Madison jusqu'au 15 mai, puis, du 29 mai au 5 juin. R.G."

First collected edition. No deluxe paper copies issued.

Publisher’s binding in full green cloth, flat spines, with their dust jackets designed by Adam Rusak, showing only minor and insignificant marginal tears.

Rare presentation copy dated May 1, 1992 and signed by Solzhenitsyn to USSR émigré journalist and writer Sam Yossman, on the title page of the first volume.

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with one frontispiece plate in the first volume: "Infantrymen of Sindh in their battle dress", and a large folding map in the second volume: "Map of Beluchistan and Sindh, including parts of Cutch, Seistan, Khorasan, Persia, &c., drawn by Henry Pottinger, Lieutenant of the 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry, in 1814" (cf. Quérard VII, 300).

Contemporary full green calf bindings, faded smooth spines gilt with fillets and small ship motifs, gilt rolls on slightly rubbed caps, gilt dentelle frames on covers, marbled endpapers lightly soiled at the edges, bookplates pasted on the front pastedowns, corners bumped...

First edition, one of 249 numbered copies on B. F. K. de Rives, the only printing other than 1 copy on Hollande and 24 on vélin crème de Renage. Illustrated with 4 original colour lithographs by Rufino Tamayo.

This copy further contains an additional suite of the 4 lithographs by Rufino Tamayo, usually reserved for the deluxe copies. Printed stamps to the versos of each engraving: "Annulation d’estampille pour annulation de vente".

First edition.

Bound in full marbled paper, with a light brown morocco spine label; original wrappers preserved. Spine ends, corners and joints slightly rubbed; minor marginal stain to rear wrapper.

Rare first edition of Andersen’s tale about an ill-fated dryad often compared to “The Little Mermaid” (1837). Both feature a feminine nature spirit longing to shed her form to enter the human world, with fatal consequences.

An exceptional copy, inscribed by Hans Christian...

First edition, one of 20 numbered cop­ies on hollande, the only deluxe issue (grand papier) after 10 copies on japon.

Bound in gray half morocco in panels, smooth spine, gilt date at foot, abstract decorative paper boards, black onion­skin pastedowns and flyleaves, original wrappers preserved, pastedown book­plate, top deckled edge gilt, binding signed Boichot.
Small tears with small lacks of paper to the margin of an endpaper and on the front cover.
The work is dedicated to Paul Verlaine who wrote the preface "which was a way of advertising to gay readers" (Gra­ham Robb, Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century, p. 210).

Precious signed and inscribed...