Les temps sauvages

First edition, one of 56 hors commerce name copies on Saint-Amand, the only deluxe issue with 32 copies on hollande.
A fine copy.

Name copy printed for Kessel's friend Eddy Marnay signed and inscrbied by Joseph Kessel beneath the limitation statement and his name: "... ou le zombie son ami Jef."

Born Edmond Bacri, he was a French lyricist and singer who wrote approximately 4,000 songs, including Les Amants de Paris for Edith Piaf.

He settled in Paris in 1937 and worked in both journalism and cinema. Bacri authored Les Amants de Paris for Édith Piaf as early as 1948, to music by Léo Ferré. His career led him to collaborate with many of the greatest performers of his time, including Yves Montand, Juliette Gréco, Michel Legrand, Nana Mouskouri, Mireille Mathieu, Marie Laforêt, Bourvil and Claude François, and to write a number of songs that became enduring classics: La Ballade irlandaise, La Valse des lilas, Les Moulins de mon cœur, Un jour, un enfant and Le mal aimé. 

The friendship linking these two major figures of literature and song remains little documented. The familiarity of the inscription and the personalised copy nevertheless attest to a genuine closeness, undoubtedly fostered by Germaine Sablon, Kessel's companion and the celebrated interpreter of the iconic patriotic song, Chant des Partisans.