First edition, one of 750 numbered copies on Arches paper, this one of a few hors commerce copies reserved for the author. Affectionate, handsome autograph inscription signed by Joseph Kessel to his friend Henri (Béraud) : "A toi, mon cher Henri, sans phrases et fraternellement [To you, my dear Henri, without grand words, but in brotherhood]." With a frontispiece drawn by, and wood-engraved by, Vassily Photiadès. Endpapers lightly and partially sunned, the occasional wormhole.