The Nectar and the Ambrosia: Legendary Gift Ideas

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".

Rare and highly sought-after first edition.
Contemporary binding in black half shagreen, flat spines richly decorated with gilt ornamental rolls, discreet and skilful restoration to the foot of one joint, black paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges. Discreet restoration to the lower hinge of the first volume.
Exceptionally clean copy, virtually free of foxing (a rarity according to Clouzot, who notes that most copies are usually heavily spotted).
Provenance: from the libraries of Saint-Germain (with printed crowned bookplate beneath the titles on the half-titles); Count de Bonvouloir (with his printed bookplate, Château de Magny in Calvados...

Autograph letter signed by Jean Cocteau, marked with his famous star, addressed to his great love, the actor Jean Marais. One page penned in black ink on a single sheet.
Traces of folds, horizontal creases inherent to mailing, two ink spots on the blank verso not affecting the text.
A magnificent love letter from Cocteau to Marais, who together formed one of the most iconic artistic couples of the 20th century. Set against the backdrop of turmoil and the German Occupation, their unbreakable bond is embodied in this letter of the writer, filled with desperate tones.

First edition, one of 74 numbered copies on Rives vellum, deluxe edition.

Beautiful copy.

First edition, one of 105 numbered copies on vélin neige, the only deluxe copies issued after 12 on pur fil.
Handsome copy.

"On June 28, 1970, I attended the first New York Gay Pride March. The date marks the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which launched the LGBTQ+ liberation movement in the U.S. We left from Christopher Street, a gay cultural mecca in Greenwich Village, and walked up 6th Avenue to Central Park. To end the day, a kissing contest was held in the middle of the park! It was a great moment of joy, love and freedom. This couple, who kissed for hours under an umbrella, obviously didn't care about photographers" (Interview with Clément Thierry, 2021)

First edition, one of 62 numbered copies on madagascar paper, deluxe copy.
Some light foxing affecting mainly the edges.
Half dark blue morocco binding, spine with five raised bands, cat's-eye paper boards, combed paper endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, binding signed by Devauchelle.
Handsome copy beautifully executed.

First edition of the French translation, one of 150 numbered copies on pur fil, the only deluxe copies issued after 25 copies on Holland paper.

A fine copy with all edges untrimmed.

New edition, illustrated with drawings by de Neuville and Benett.
Publisher’s gilt-pictorial cloth binding known as “à un éléphant, titre dans l’éventail”, with Engel’s signature at the foot of the front cover plaque, spine featuring a lighthouse, rear cover of type “i” as defined by Jauzac, all edges gilt.
Headcaps very slightly compressed, faint trace of a removed label to the verso of the front board.
A handsome copy.
Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours is an adventure novel. It tells the story of an English gentleman, Phileas Fogg, who wagers he can travel around the world_

First edition, this one the no. 1 of 25 numbered copies on Japon, most limited deluxe issue.

Bound in grey half morocco, smooth spine, marbled paper boards, mould-made endpapers, original wrappers preserved, pastedown bookplate, top edge gilt, contemporary binding signed by L. Pouillet.

A rare and handsome copy in an attractive contemporary binding.

Original inscribed photograph portrait of Emile Zola. Original albumen paper print on cardboard bearing the stamps of the Eugène Pirou studio, rue Royale, Paris.

Signed and inscribed by Emile Zola to Otto Eisenschitz: "à M. Otto Eisenschitz / cordialement / Emile Zola".




 

First edition, one of 1050 numbered copies on bouffant alfa paper.
Publisher's binding after the original design by Paul Bonet.
Very handsome copy complete with its flexible cardboard slipcase.

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

Rare pirate pre-first edition of the greatest revenge novel of all time. Given the extreme rarity of the French first edition in book form, these...

Autograph letter most probably unpublished signed addressed by Juliette Drouet to her lover Victor Hugo, four pages written in black ink on a bifolium. 
Transverse folds inherent to mailing, fold joining the two leaves reinforced with a fine strip of pasted paper barely perceptible.
Absent from the very complete online edition of Juliette Drouet's letters to Hugo by the Centre d'Études et de Recherche Éditer/Interpréter (University of Rouen-Normandy).
Very beautiful declaration of love and admiration by Juliette Drouet, the day after Hugo's plea defending his son. Charles Hugo had been brought before the assizes, and condemned despite his father's...

Autograph letter signed by Honoré de Balzac, addressed to his friend, the writer Charles de Bernard. One page written in black ink on a bifolium. On the verso of the second leaf appears the address of the recipient [Charles de Bernard du Grail], written in Balzac’s hand, along with postal stamps and the seal bearing the arms of the Balzac d’Entraigues family, which the author had appropriated.

A few minor holes not affecting the text; fold marks as usual from mailing.

A uniformly bound set of four volumes, comprising the three authentic Tours of Doctor Syntax by William Combe and Thomas Rowlandson, together with the celebrated apocryphal volume devoted to London.

The first volume, The Tour of Doctor Syntax in Search of the Picturesque, is the fifth edition, published in London by R. Ackermann on 16 August 1813, with new plates. The next two volumes are the first editions of The Second Tour of Doctor Syntax in Search of Consolation, London, R. Ackermann, 1820, and The Third Tour of Doctor Syntax in Search of a Wife, London, R. Ackermann, 1821, whose preface is signed and dated 1 May. The fourth, The...

First edition, with all the first issue features, including the misprint "Sénart" on the dedication leaf.
Elegant half hazel morocco bindings with corners by Blanchetière, spines with five raised bands, very slightly faded, dates gilt at foot, marbled paper sides, combed paper endleaves and pastedowns, original wrappers bound in, with the original spine preserved for the first volume, top edges gilt.
Complete with the publisher's catalogue at the end of the first volume.

Occasional light foxing.
A handsome and desirable copy, retaining its rare original wrappers and finely bound by Henri Blanchetière.

First edition, one of 1,040 numbered copies printed on Navarre alfa paper.
Publisher's paper-covered boards after Paul Bonet's original design.
Endpapers fully shaded throughout, as often encountered.

First quarto edition, complete with all volumes and plates, commonly referred to as the “Third Edition” of the Encyclopédie, and also known as the “Encyclopédie de Pellet” or “Encyclopédie de Lyon” or “Encyclopédie du Lac” by Simon-Nicolas-Henri Linguet.

Full marbled and polished brown sheepskin contemporary bindings, spines with five raised bands and four gilt compartments decorated with pomegranate gilt tools, two gilt decorative rolls at foot, title and volume lettering-pieces in red and green morocco, boards twice framed in blind, board edges gilt, all red edges, marbled pastedowns and...

First edition, one of the 81 numbered copies on Holland paper, the only deluxe issue.

A handsome copy.

First edition, one of 65 copies on Arches; our copy is unnumbered but correctly justified "vergé d’Arches" at the foot of the lower cover. One of the only deluxe papers issued.

Two slight sunning marks at head and foot of the spine, which is also lightly pinched at the foot.

A pleasing copy.

First edition, one of 70 numbered copies on Arches wove paper.

Our copy is enriched with the autograph signatures of Jacques Prévert — who signed as Jacques Rêve-vert (with the word “vert” highlighted in green) — and of André Pozner, each accompanied by two small drawings: a little cat for Jacques Prévert and a camel’s hump for André Pozner.

A fine copy, complete with its slipcase.

Rare and sought-after first edition.
 
Half-black shagreen binding, spine in four compartments, marbled paper boards, pebbled endpapers and pastedowns, speckled edges, contemporary binding.
Some occasional light foxing as usual.
 
Rare copy in strictly contemporary binding.

First edition of the French translation, with false statement of second edition.

Full green cloth Bradel binding, flat spine decorated with a central gilt ornament, beige sheepskin title label, original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding signed in blind by Pierson. Some light foxing. 

Very rare presentation copy dated and signed by Ivan Turgenev to Anatole France: "Monsieur Anatole France / hommage de l'auteur / 1876".

First edition featuring the celebrated original color stencil "Aidez l'Espagne!", printed on Arches paper by Joan Miró.
With literary contributions by Christian Zervos on Pablo Picasso's "Guernica", as well as texts by Jean Cassou, Georges Duthuit, Pierre Mabille, Michel Leiris, Paul Éluard, René Char...
Illustrated with numerous reproductions of works by Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró’s "Le faucheur".
Some rubbing and small tears to the spine, as often, a vertical crease to the rear wrapper, otherwise a fresh and well-preserved copy.

First edition, no copies on deluxe paper issued.

Half light brown morocco binding, flat spine with author stamped in gilt and title stamped in gilt lengthwise, gilt date at foot, brown stingray boards framed in morocco, brown suede endpapers and pastedowns, original covers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, elegant binding signed Thomas Boichot.

Manuscript ex-libris in black ink and a slight restoration to the upper right corner of the first...

First edition, with all the features of first issue copies, including the misprint “Sénart” on the dedication leaf.

Contemporary plum-coloured 3/4 morocco binding signed by Georges Huser, spines with five raised bands, numerously ruled in blind, with a gilt floral tool at centres, dates in gilt at foot, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved, top edges gilt, bookplates on each front pastedown. Complete with the publisher’s catalogue at the end of the first volume.

A very handsome copy, elegantly bound by Georges Huser, with the...

Complete autograph manuscript in French by Anatole France, 7 pages in black ink on 7 leaves and a signed autograph note on a bifolium.

Complete and extensively corrected speech by Anatole France, on the occasion of a banquet given in his honor in London. The future Nobel Prize winner for Literature delivers a passionate appeal for peace between nations and an ode to England - its philosophy, literature and politics - less than a year before WW1.

The writer offered this manuscript with a signed note: “Keep, dear colleague and friend, keep these leaves of paper if they are of any value to you. Anatole France London, December 12, 1913”.

First edition, one of 100 numbered copies on hollande paper, deluxe issue (only the first volume numbered).
Each volume includes a historical introduction by Philippe De Gaulle.
Ex-libris pasted to the front of each volume.
A very fine copy with wide margins, complete in twelve volumes of this important work, commencing in 1905 and concluding in April 1969.

First edition on ordinary paper, bearing the correct imprint dated 6 May 1959, with the false statement of second edition.
Spine very slightly sunned.
Signed and inscribed by Eugène Ionesco to the stage director, playwright, and writer Simone Benmussa on the half-title.

First edition with false statement of 3rd edition, as this theater play was first created at the théâtre français on January 18, 1866.
Split to upper part of joint of the second board, some wear to head and foot of joints, rubbed corners.
Contemporary deep green morocco binding. Arms of Napoléon III stamped at center of each boards. A nice copy.
In the aftermath of the Terror, the author portrays the protagonists of the French political revival: General Hoche and General Bonaparte in the Salon of Madame Tallien.

First edition, one of 9 numbered copies on japon, only deluxe issue aside from 35 copies on pur fil, and a few on coloured paper.

Full black morocco binding, flat spine, author’s name palladium-stamped, title stamped lengthwise in palladium and blind, grey long-grain shagreen inlays to boards with author and title stamped lengthwise in palladium and in blind, turn-ins framed in morocco, light plum suede pastedowns and flyleaves, three palladium decorated deckled edges, outstanding custom binding by Thomas Boichot.

First edition, one of 25 numbered copies on bouffant vellum paper from the Salzer mills, ours being No. 1, the only deluxe paper issue.
Handsome copy of this work awarded the Grand Prix du Roman of the Académie française. 
 

First edition of this complete suite of 18 numbered intaglio plates enhanced in colour, on 'J. Honig & Zoonen' laid paper, depicting 72 merchants accompanied by captions beneath each figure.
First printing, subsequent editions will feature individually numbered figures surrounded by a border.

Bound in half sienna morocco with corners, smooth spine, title stamped in gilt throughout, tiger patterned paper boards, combed paper endpapers and flyleaves, first cover retained, gilt head.
 
Extremely rare and the earliest known suite of prints depicting itinerant merchants and pedlars in Spain. Each figure is...

Second edition with some parts in first edition (with 5 added tales), Félix Vallotton's illustrations in first issue, one of 20 numbered copies on japon, only deluxe issue.
Bradel binding, brown 3/4 cloth, smooth spine with floral motif stamped in gilt at center, twice ruled in gilt at foot, slightly chafed morocco title-label, marbled paper boards, original covers and spine preserved, contemporary binding signed Carayon.
Small clear stains to the top edge of first board, one corner slightly rubbed, a spot of foxing at foot of the first few pages. 
Illustrated with 50 drawings by Félix Vallotton.

Rare and handsome copy housed in a contemporary binding by...

Set of 52 original plates, etched and enhanced with watercolours at the time, numbered 1 to 52, mounted in pairs under mats.
 
Leaves in red half calf slipcase (early 20th century), red shagreen boards.
The plates vary in size (10.8 x 17.6 cm to 28.1 x 18.8 cm) and paper stock, as was often the case with La Mésangère's publications. Unbound engraved title on a bifolium, printed separately, absent from most copies. It is replaced here by its identical reprint by Gosselin (1893-1903), on antique watermarked paper and bears the publisher's 'G' mark, characteristic of this reprint a century later. All the plates, however, are in their first edition, without the G...

First edition, one of 100 copies on Japon, the only deluxe issue.

Navy blue half shagreen with slight color restoration, spine with five raised bands abundantly framed in gilt, blue watered silk flyleaves, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, gilt top edge, binding signed J. Querelle.

First edition on ordinary paper.

Contemporary binding in half red morocco with corners, spine with five raised bands framed with black fillets, gilt date on tail, marbled paper boards, bouquet-patterned endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved (small angular restoration to the foot of the first board), gilt head.

Binding signed by Léon Gruel, one of the most renowned bookbinders of the late 19th century.

Le Horla consists of thirteen short stories: Le Horla, Amour, Le Trou, Sauvée, Clochette, Le Marquis de Fumerol, Le Signe, Le Diable, Les Rois, Au bois, Une famille, Joseph, L'Auberge and Le Vagabond.

Precious...

Autograph letter dated from Liane de Pougy to the French archaeologist, curator of the Musée de Saint-Germain and professor of art history at the École du Louvre, Salomon Reinach, 56 lines written in blue ink on one double-sided sheet, written from her property at Clos-Marie in Roscoff where the famous courtesan stayed until 1926.
A small tear in the right-hand margin of the letter, inherent in the enveloping of the missive; another slight tear at the foot, without affecting the text.
Liane de Pougy marvels at the youthful vigor of Reinach, who had just turned 65: ' Many happy returns for your 65 years, which find you so young, so fresh, so green, with such playful (studious)...

First edition, one of 8 numbered copies on Chinese paper, the deluxe issue.
Bound in full red morocco, smooth spine, spine and boards decorated with a geometric design of black and gilt fillets representing interlaced mountain peaks in zigzag pattern, endpapers and pastedowns illustrated with an original lithograph signed in pencil by Germaine de Coster, following endpapers of red paper, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt; a very elegant contemporary binding signed by Hélène Dumas and Germaine de Coster.
This copy is further enriched with an original charcoal portrait of Jean Giono, signed by...

First edition, one of 200 numbered copies on Hollande paper, the only large paper copies.

3/4 blue morocco Bradel binding, spine with five raised bands highlighted with gilt dots and decorated with triple gilt compartments, gilt date at tail, gilt fillets on marbled paper boards, marbled paper flyleaves and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, others uncut, binding signed Canape.

Rare copy of Guy de Maupassant's masterpiece beautifully bound in an elegant signed binding.