Les soirées de Médan

First edition on ordinary paper.
Bradel binding in half navy blue morocco, smooth spine, burgundy morocco title-piece, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, bookplate affixed to a pastedown, binding signed by Kauffmann.
Precious signed autograph inscription by Guy de Maupassant: « À mon aimable cousine Lucie Le Poittevin et à mon cher cousin, beau-fils de Cornudet lui-même, leur bien dévoué... »
Our copy is further enriched with two autograph letters signed by Léon Hennique and Henri Céard.

This true manifesto of Naturalism, Les Soirées de Médan, consists of six short stories: « L'Attaque du moulin » by Émile Zola, « Sac au dos » by J.-K. Huysmans, « La Saignée » by Henry Céard, « L'Affaire du grand 7 » by Léon Hennique, « Après la bataille » by Paul Alexis, and of course, « Boule de Suif » by Guy de Maupassant. Described as a masterpiece by Gustave Flaubert, this story was inspired by an anecdote told to Maupassant by his uncle, Charles Cord'Homme. Moreover, Cord'Homme himself inspired the young writer in the creation of Cornudet, the principal male character of « Boule de Suif ». Maupassant’s inscription confirms this influence in the tribute he pays to his cousin and confidant, Louis-Paul Le Poittevin, stepson of Charles Cord'Homme, alias Cornudet. This dedication is mentioned by Armand Lanoux in his work Maupassant le Bel Ami: « Boule de Suif n'est pas sorti de l'imagination du conteur. Le modèle d'Elisabeth Rousset s'appelait Adrienne Legay. Charles Cord'Homme l'avait connue avant 1870. Il s'en défendra plus tard, mais il ne pouvait effacer, entre autres la dédicace faite par Maupassant à ses cousins Louis et Lucie Le Poittevin, ce dernier présenté comme beau-fils de Cornudet lui-même. »
Guy de Maupassant stayed on many occasions at La Neuville, the Le Poittevin family’s Norman estate, notably for his 30th birthday in August 1880, four months after the publication of the Soirées de Médan. It was very probably during this visit that he offered them this volume. In his edition of Maupassant’s previously unpublished correspondence, Artine Artinian observes: « Les rapports de Maupassant avec ses cousins Le Poittevin sont ceux d'une ancienne, franche et cordiale amitié. » At the marriage of Louis and Lucie in 1869, the writer had in fact foretold to his cousin: « Je serai si tu veux l'ami de ton ménage. » They were indeed true confidants, as their correspondence testifies, and in 1884 Maupassant even lived for a time in their townhouse on rue Montchanin in Paris.
A fine demonstration of Maupassant’s profound attachment to his maternal family.
Provenance: from the library of Alain de Suzannet with his bookplate affixed to a pastedown; Gérard de Berny (sale, Giraud-Badin, November 1958, no. 293).
Rare copy of exceptional provenance.