The first edition published only in paperback format, of which there were no deluxe copies, one of the Service de Presse (advance) copies.
Moving and precious signed autograph inscription from Maurice Blanchot to his sister Marguerite on a card mounted on the first endpaper: "Chère Marg, ce livre qui n'est pas un livre mais qui te dit en ces jours si sombres, ma fidèle, ma profonde affection. Maurice." ["Dear Marg, this book which is not a book but which tells you in these dark days, my faithful one, my deep affection. Maurice."]
Envelope bearing Marguerite Blanchot's address written by her brother Maurice mounted on the half-title page. Marguerite Blanchot, renowned organist at the cathedral of Chalon, remained all her life in the family home, with her mother and aunt. "She gradually became, for the family, like the memory of origins." Very close to Maurice, she corresponded regularly with the writer who showed her great gratitude for her devotion to their invalid mother. While Blanchot's intense affection for his mother and sister shows through in his dedications, we know almost nothing of their relationship. In the only biographical essay on Blanchot, Christophe Bident reveals however: "Marguerite Blanchot venerated her brother Maurice. Very proud of him, (...) she attached great importance to his political ideas (...). She read a great deal (...) They telephoned each other, corresponded. At a distance, they shared the same natural authority, the same concern for discretion." Blanchot indeed sent her numerous works from his library, maintaining with her a continuous intellectual bond. A marginal crease at foot of first cover.
Handsome copy.