First editions, fine papers and deluxe printings of French and foreign literature, 16th to 21st century

First edition, one of 80 numbered copies on Hollande paper, the deluxe issue.
Fine copy.

First edition, one of 450 numbered copies on Corsican paper.
A pleasant copy, despite the spine and covers being slightly and marginally toned, as often.

First edition, no deluxe copies printed.
Handsome copy.
Important presentation copy inscribed by Claude Lévi-Strauss to Jean-François Revel.
 

First edition on ordinary paper, with a mention of the fourth edition.
Bradel binding in green almond half percaline, smooth spine slightly faded and decorated, gilt fillet at foot, brown shagreen label, marbled paper boards, original wrappers preserved, extremities very slightly rubbed, contemporary binding.
Inscribed and signed by Guy de Maupassant to Paul Hervieu.
 

First edition, one of the review copies.

A pleasant copy despite a repaired tear at the foot of one joint.

Inscribed and signed by Blaise Cendrars to Georges Le Cardonnel.

First edition, illustrated with an allegorical frontispiece and 34 half-page engravings by Sébastien Le Clerc.

Contemporary full red morocco binding with elaborate dentelle gilt decoration. Spine with raised bands, richly tooled in gilt with onion flower motifs. Red morocco title and volume labels. Wide gilt dentelle border on the covers, executed with small tools. Gilt edges. Headcaps, joints, and corners restored; gilt decoration on the headcaps renewed. Noteworthy: the engraving on p.125 has been printed in reverse.

Bookplate with the armorial bearings of Pierre de Laussat, apparently reaffixed to the front endpaper.

First edition, one of 62 numbered copies on madagascar paper, deluxe copy.
Some light foxing affecting mainly the edges.
Half dark blue morocco binding, spine with five raised bands, cat's-eye paper boards, combed paper endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, binding signed by Devauchelle.
Handsome copy beautifully executed.

First edition, one of the advance review copies.

Spine and covers slightly and marginally sunned, internally clean and well-preserved.
Work for which Patrick Modiano was awarded the "Prix Goncourt" in 1978.
Rare inscribed copy, signed by Patrick Modiano to Jean-François Revel.
 

First edition of the French translation, one of 150 numbered copies on pur fil, the only deluxe copies issued after 25 copies on Holland paper.

A fine copy with all edges untrimmed.

Second edition, partly original, with 14 poems appearing here for the first time.

Bound in fawn half morocco with corners, spine very slightly darkened without consequence, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved.

Illustrated with a frontispiece by Félicien Rops.

A handsome copy, attractively bound.

First edition - only published issue of this journal of the Resistance.
Minor rubbing at head and foot of spine, slight tears in margins of covers.
Anonymous texts by Claude Bourdet, Maurice Clavel, Jean-Louis Curtis, Yves Gandon, Flavien Monod and Maximilien Vox, who was the magazine's director.
This single issue was put together between December 1943 and March 1944, but La Revue noire could not be published during the Occupation. The final press proof was given on 15 February 1944 and the imprint is dated 15 February 1945.
A rare and pleasant copy.

First French edition of the translation, with no copies printed on deluxe paper.

A handsome copy complete with its illustrated dust jacket, which shows minor tears to the head of the spine and panels.

The book was adapted for the screen in 2006 by Tom Tykwer, starring Ben Whishaw and Dustin Hoffman.

First edition, no copies printed on deluxe paper. This copy bears the resale dust jacket from Robert Marin, with the new publisher’s label mounted to the foot of the title page.
The spine is cracked and has undergone repairs, with a tear at the foot of one joint; internally clean given the inherent fragility of the poor-quality paper used.
 
 
« Il n'y a pas d'espèces humaines, il y a une espèce humaine. C'est parce que nous sommes des hommes comme eux que les S.S. seront en définitive impuissants devant nous. »
 
This seminal work on the Nazi concentration camps was the third and final publication of the short-lived publishing house founded by Marguerite Duras and Robert Antelme, her husband from 1940 to 1946.
Initially overlooked at the time of its discreet release—with only a few copies sold—it was redistributed the following year under new covers by Robert Marin. The book suffered from the influx of postwar writings on the subject. And yet, as F. Lebelley observed, « à une époque où les récits abondent, la puissance particulière de ce livre-là, d'une sobriété première, bouleverse tel un texte fondateur. Livre d'écrivain aussi qui a pris, reconnaît Duras, 'le large de la littérature'. Robert Antelme n'en écrira jamais d'autre. Malgré les éloges et les honneurs, L'Espèce humaine restera l'œuvre unique d'une vie » (in Duras, ou le Poids d'une plume).
 
Thanks to the intervention of Albert Camus, the book was republished in 1957 by Gallimard, and finally reached a wider readership.
 
It has since been recognised as one of the most important literary works to grapple with the harrowing but necessary reflection on the concentration camps and the human condition. It paved the way for writers such as his friend Jorge Semprun to begin forging a new path in writing about the unspeakable.
 
As early as 1947, Antelme wrote in his foreword: « nous revenions juste, nous ramenions avec nous notre mémoire, notre expérience toute vivante et nous éprouvions un désir frénétique de la dire telle quelle. Et, dès les premiers jours cependant, il nous paraissait impossible de combler la distance que nous découvrions entre le langage dont nous disposions et cette expérience. [...] Comment nous résigner à ne pas tenter d'expliquer comment nous en étions venus là?? Nous y étions encore. Et cependant c'é_

First edition, one of 45 numbered copies on pur fil, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.

A handsome copy.

First edition, printed in 105 copies on Rives wove paper, this copy being one of the 60 with an original etching signed in pencil by Annie Proszynska.

Colophon signed in pencil by both Guy Rohou and Annie Proszynska.

Illustrated with 15 original etchings by Annie Proszynska, including a frontispiece, a full-page plate, a double-page plate, and 12 in-text illustrations.

A fine copy, complete with its original Siena moiré cloth chemise and slipcase.

First edition, untrimmed with wide margins, very rare and highly sought-after (see Clouzot, "Le manuel du bibliophile français", p. 257).

Some occasional foxing.

Illustrated on the title pages of both volumes with two engraved vignettes by Porrêt. This copy contains the publisher’s notice leaf in the first volume and the author’s note leaf in the second volume.

Contemporary red half calf over marbled boards, calf corners, spines ruled in gilt with double gilt panels decorated with typographic gilt tooling, black calf title and volume labels, some minor rubbing to joints, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, lower corners a bit worn, bookplate pasted on the front pastedown of volume one, contemporary bindings.

A very rare and desirable copy, entirely untrimmed and preserved in a handsome contemporary binding - an even rarer feature. As noted by Clouzot: "les reliures de l'époque sont le plus souvent assez simples. Donc ne pas se montrer difficile sur la qualité."  ['Contemporary bindings are most often rather plain; one should not be overly particular regarding their quality.']

First edition, one of 41 numbered copies on Hollande paper, the leading issue.

A fine copy.

First text: first edition, with no copies issued on deluxe paper; second text: first edition in part.

Publisher's full grey cloth binding, flat spine, complete with the original dust jacket.

Illustrated with photographs by Tony Armstrong-Jones.

A small stain to the lower part of the front endpaper, otherwise a pleasing copy.

Inscribed and signed by Paul Morand: "A maître Chérier, ce tunnel sous la manche, très fidèlement Morand."

True first edition, with no deluxe paper copies issued.

Half red morocco over marbled boards, corners in morocco, spine with five raised bands adorned with gilt fillets and double gilt compartments, date stamped in gilt at foot, minor rubbing to the bands, gilt fillet border on the marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and backstrip with a few minor losses preserved, a light scratch to an upper corner, contemporary binding signed by C. Septier.

Inscribed by one of the authors on the half-title page, to Marcel Gropiot.

A handsome copy attractively bound in a period binding for this work, which was awarded the Prix Goncourt upon its first reissue in 1906.

First edition on ordinary paper.

Spine creased as often, otherwise a pleasant copy.

Illustrated.

Inscribed and signed by Jean Marais to Madame Romanini.

First edition on ordinary paper.

Small loss and a stain to the lower left margin of the lower cover, folding marks to the right margin of the upper cover.

Preface by Jacques Laurent.

Inscribed and signed by Antoine Blondin: "Pour Philippe Patrice Cazenave leur ami Antoine Blondin".

First edition, partly original, of the author's complete works.

Our copy retains the engraved frontispiece portrait of Madame de Staël by Müller, present in the first volume.

Some minor foxing, rare minor scratches on a few covers, holes at the bottom of the last marbled paper flyleaf in the ninth volume.

Full pinkish-red glazed calf bindings, smooth spines with richly decorated double gilt compartments, title and volume labels in green morocco, double gilt fillets framing the covers stamped in their centres with gilt coats of arms, gilt-rolled leading edges, marbled endpapers and endboards, gilt lace framing on pastedowns, all edges gilt, very elegant english bindings of the period.

According to Clouzot, this is the first, most sought-after, and by far the finest edition of the complete works of Madame de Staël.

Compiled by Baron Auguste-Louis de Staël-Holstein (1790–1827), her eldest son, and the Duke Achille-Charles-Léonce-Victor de Broglie (1785–1870), her son-in-law, this collection of the Complete Works is well composed, carefully printed and error-free. Compiled with genuine filial piety and a respectful family spirit, it presents, from a literary point of view, the best text of the definitive version of each of the Baroness's complete works.

A very fine copy in a perfect decorative binding with arms and in full glazed calfskin of the period.

First edition, with no copies printed on deluxe paper.

A pleasant copy.

On the half-title page, autograph inscription signed by Jean-Claude Carrière to the writer, essayist, and pianist Catherine David: "... qui m'ouvrît avec grâce la lourde porte du temps, je m'incline sur son passage avec amitié."

On the front endpaper, autograph inscription signed by Umberto Eco to the same recipient.

First edition, with no deluxe paper copies issued.

Slight, insignificant tears to the foot of the covers.

A handsome copy.

First edition of this theatre programme for Jean-Paul Sartre's adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's Kean, staged at the Théâtre Marigny in 1988, directed by Robert Hossein and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo in the title role.

A fine copy. Illustrated throughout.

Boldly signed by Jean-Paul Belmondo in black felt-tip pen on the cover.

First edition, one of 15 numbered copies on tinted antique Japan paper, ours being one of 5 hors commerce lettered copies, comprising the deluxe issue.

Minor spotting to the half-title and following leaf, otherwise a fine copy with full margins.

First edition, one of 515 copies.

The set of 8 issues is housed under two half-oasis black folders, smooth spines, gilt dates at foot, decorative paper boards, lined in green paper, set signed by Atelier Laurenchet.
Minor lacks of paper and tears to some spines and boards, some spines with slight restorations. The eighth issue has marginally soiled boards and a detached engraving, occasional foxing mainly affecting the sixth issue, part of the first issue being almost detached, some rare lacks of paper in the margins due to its innate fragility.

First edition on ordinary paper of the French translation by Philippe Jaccottet.

A handsome copy of this work, which was adapted for the screen by Volker Schlöndorff in 1966.

First edition, with no deluxe copies printed; one of the review copies.

Small tears to the spine and along the left edge of the front cover.

Rare signed autograph tribute by Boris Vian on this text.

First edition, this one the no. 1 of 25 numbered copies on Japon, most limited deluxe issue.

Bound in grey half morocco, smooth spine, marbled paper boards, mould-made endpapers, original wrappers preserved, pastedown bookplate, top edge gilt, contemporary binding signed by L. Pouillet.

A rare and handsome copy in an attractive contemporary binding.

First edition, one of 20 numbered copies on Japan paper, the smallest issue of the deluxe edition, along with 20 on Arches.

Spine and covers marginally faded and sunned as usual, with minor paper losses at the flaps.

Illustrated with 8 original lithographs by Georges Annenkoff.

As with all copies from the deluxe issue, this copy includes the complete double suite of illustrations on vellum and on China paper.

First edition, one of 15 copies on Japan paper, the deluxe issue.

Minor foxing to the edges of the covers, otherwise a desirable and uncommon copy with all edges uncut.

First edition, one of the review copies.

Spine very slightly sunned, not affecting legibility.

Fine signed presentation inscription from Emmanuel Berl to a friend named Françoise: "A Françoise, belle, charmante comme une fée... son ami..."

First edition, one of the review copies.

Spine very slightly sunned, not affecting legibility.

Inscribed by Emmanuel Berl to a friend named Françoise.

First edition, one of 35 numbered copies on Holland paper, the deluxe issue.

A fine copy.

First French edition translated by Abdelmalek Faraj.
Spine and boards marginally discolored and sunned, handsome interior condition.
Very fine autograph inscription signed by Pierre Dermenghem, on two pages, to Henry de Montherlant enriched with an autograph inscription signed by Abdelmalek Faraj.
Manuscript annotations by Henry de Montherlant, in blue ink, on the back board.
 

First edition, one of the Service de Presse (advance) copies.
Spine slightly sunned.
Handsome autograph inscription dated and signed by Eugène Dabit to Pierre Lièvre: "... J'ai reçu ces jours-ci "l'Education des filles", et votre dédicace me touche. Je viendrai un soir : choisissez-le. Je vous envoie ce livre qui est, en quelque sorte, mon premier roman. Je souhaite qu'il m'aide à garder votre confiance. Je fais miennes beaucoup de vos idées (dans votre préface à l'extravagante) Est-il possible de le sentir ici.  Fidèlement. Eugène Dabit." ("... I received 'l'Education des filles' these past few days, and your dedication touches me. I will come one evening: you choose when. I am sending you this book which is, in a way, my first novel. I hope it will help me keep your confidence. I make many of your ideas my own (in your preface to 'l'extravagante') Is it possible to feel it here. Faithfully. Eugène Dabit.")

First edition in French, of which there were no deluxe copies.

Foxing to spine and margins of boards, retaining the dust jacket which has small marginal tears.

Rare dated autograph inscription signed by William Styron to journalist Paule Villers.

First edition. Very scarce and sought-after, like all of his writings. This play is inspired by his tumultous life, namely the poisoning attempt he allegedly suffered from the hands of his lover Jeanne Sarrey.
With a very rare autograph letter signed by Xavier Forneret, one of the few surviving manuscripts of this bohemian Romantic rediscovered by Surrealists.
The scandalous genius attempts to have Mère et fille performed at the Théâtre de la Gaîté. Letter dated by the author May 27, 1854, addressed to playwright Charles Desolme. Two pages in black ink on a bifolium, small tear along the fold, no damage to the text.
Forneret, a fundamentally marginal literary figure, who evolved outside the Parisian literary circles, had great difficulty staging his plays in Dijon and Paris. Mère et fille lays bare "the feelings of the family, stripped of the movement of incidental characters and the clatter of a grand staging", in the author's own words. Forneret's attempts in this letter to stage the play with Hippolyte Hostein, then director of the Théâtre de la Gaîté, were in vain. The play premiered the following year at the Montmartre theater, and Forneret spent a fortune promoting it. It was scheduled to be performed - along with Jamais, another of his plays now lost - once again at the Théâtre de l'Ambigu, which reneged on its commitment. Well acquainted with the courts of justice, Fourneret successfully sued his director Charles Desnoyers in 1856, who defended himself by declaring that it was "impossible to stage [the plays], because they were unplayable". Nearly a century later, Forneret's works, mostly self-published and neglected by his contemporaries, were rediscovered by the Surrealists, who finally proclaimed Forneret's literary importance with other outcasts like Lautréamont and Raymond Roussel.

"My dear Monsieur Desolme,
According to our conversation yesterday about the return of my manuscript, I regret that M. Hostein, in committing this act of convenience, had not told me that there was a way of coming to an agreement if I consented to a few possible modifications, of scenic requirement; for I do not claim to have written a masterpiece to which it is forbidden to subtract or add an iota. If, therefore, M. Hostein would agree to keep the title of my play, the final events of each act, and agree between us, in a single session (if this is possible) on the changes to be made to my work [...] if, on the contrary, M. le Director of la Gaîté were to make another piece of my drama, to the extent that I would be ashamed to sign it, a work that would no longer be mine, I would be forced to withdraw; indeed, what would be left for me - I ask you, or any man of good logic and good faith? [...] I'm leaving the day after tomorrow, Monday, but I'll be back soon if we don't come to an agreement, so determined am I that Mère et fille will find somewhere to be played [...].

First edition, one of 120 numbered copies on Lafuma pure wove paper, the only large-paper issue.

Endpapers very slightly and marginally toned, two small tears at foot of spine.

A rare and much sought-after copy in original state.

First edition.

Full celadon blue morocco binding, later (ca 1920). Smooth spine decorated with mirror-tooled ornaments at tail and head connected by fillets. Fillet frame on boards. Top edge gilt. Covers and spine preserved. Uncut copy. Scattered pale foxing. 

Handsome copy in full morocco.

Last flame of late romanticism, Dominique is a sentimental novel, imbued with profound melancholy, largely inspired by autobiographical events and narrating the story of an impossible love. It is the only novel by this celebrated painter, and remains one of the great works of 19th-century French literature.