Oeuvres complètes de Balzac [enrichi d'une] lettre autographe signée de Balzac

Œuvres complètes de Balzac [enriched with] handwritten letter signed by Balzac
First edition, one of the extremely rare copies all with the Furne address, including the last three volumes, complete with all its first print plates, set in an elegant, strictly contemporary, uniform binding. Our copy is also complete with the portrait of Balzac, on the frontispiece of the Comédie humaine and the biographical preface by George Sand which is most often missing.

“First collective edition under the title of Oeuvres, presenting a number of texts in first edition, at the same time as a new version of Comédie humaine, review, reworked by Balzac; the first edition to be illustrated also, and by the best artists of the time [Daumier, Nanteuil, Gavarni, Monnier, Johannot, etc.]. So many reasons to insist on the interest of this edition, one of the most important in French literature. Having had a restless, confused existence, republished several times with a large number of copies, this work is very rare in its first form, even rarer still in contemporary uniform binding, than in modern bindings with covers.” (Clouzot, Guide du bibliophile français)

All of the volumes of our set are in first issue, with the exception, of course, of volume XVII, as Clouzot explains:
“It will be necessary to ensure, in a copy of the first edition, that all the titles [...] bear the dates indicated making exception only for volume XVII which is hardly encountered until the date 1849, that of 1848 being almost exceptional.”
Each character presents the titles of the novels in lower case and enclosed in brackets. The character of Séchard, in volume VIII, has no brackets, an extremely rare bibliographic feature, as Clouzot reveals: “By way of example, the characters Goupil (volume V) and Séchard (volume VIII), have never, it seems, been found exempt from these brackets.” Our copy is also complete with all the plates.

Contemporary binding in half red calf, spine decorated with gilt dentelles and blind tooling, paste paper boards, caillouté marbled endpapers (with some traces of glue from an earlier ex-libris).

The gilding of the last volume (Les Contes drôlatiques) is very subtly different from the other volumes. Scattered foxing a little more pronounced in places.
Our copy is enriched with a precious handwritten signed letter from Honoré de Balzac mounted on guards at the top of the first volume. This letter, written on 11 June 1846, is addressed to Charles Sédillot, his mother's cousin. The latter is then in charge of settling the accounts between Balzac and his mother: “My dear cousin, I returned only yesterday from many travels, and I found the letters that you did me the honor of writing relating to my mother's affairs, I am delighted that she took you as her representative as it will make things much simpler.”
Balzac returned from a trip to Switzerland and Italy with Madame Hanska and is unpleasantly surprised to learn that his mother declared him the debtor of 57,000 francs and not 18,000 as he thought.

An extremely rare copy, entirely addressed at Furne, in an elegant contemporary binding and enriched with a handwritten letter signed by the author.

The most desirable of conditions.
“The work was to originally consist of 17 volumes, but the publisher, Houssiaux, taking over from the previous publishers, completed them with the final three volumes” (Clouzot).


List of volumes with their print date, the first editions and the characters that they contain:
- Volume I: 1842. First edition of Albert Savarus and the Fausse maîtresse. 8 characters (and a frontispiece portrait of Balzac in our volume, delivered with volume XVII)
- Volume II: 1842. First edition of Autre étude de femme. 8 characters
- Volume III: 1842. 8 characters
- Volume IV: 1845. 8 characters
- Volume V: 1843. 8 characters
- Volume VI: 1843. 8 characters
- Volume VII: 1844. 8 characters
- Volume VIII: 1843. First edition of the first part of Illusions perdues. 8 characters
- Volume IX: 1843. 8 characters
- Volume X: 1844. 8 characters
- Volume XI: 1844. 8 characters
- Volume XII: 1846. First edition of the last part of Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes, Une esquisse d'homme d'affaires, Envers de l'histoire contemporaine (1^st part), Gaudissart II, Comédiens sans le savoir. 6 characters
- Volume XIII: 1845. 6 characters, which are nearly always missing, because they had only been delivered with volume XX.
- Volume XIV: 1845. 10 characters
- Volume XV: 1845. 6 characters
- Volume XVI: 1845. 6 characters
- Volume XVII: 1849 (second print, the first had been published the year before). 5 characters which are very often missing, having only been delivered earlier.
“L'ouvrage ne devait primitivement comporter que 17 volumes, mais l'éditeur Houssiaux, prenant la suite des éditeurs précédents, les compléta par trois derniers volumes” “The work was to originally consist of 17 volumes, but the publisher, Houssiaux, taking over from the previous publishers, completed them with the final three volumes” (Clouzot):
- Volume XVIII: 1855. 16 characters (our copy finely presents the frontispiece of the Comédie humaine, delivered with volume XX)
- Volume XIX: 1855. 4 characters
- Volume XX: 1855. 5 characters
See this very interesting article published by the Maison de Balzac by Robert Tranchida for more on the Furne edition: Historique de l'édition Furne