L'abbaye de Tiphaines

First Nrf edition, one of 112 numbered copies on pur fil paper reimposed in Tellière quarto format, ours one of 8 hors commerce lettered copies, deluxe issue.
Our hors commerce copy bearing the letter "b" was traditionally reserved for Jean Schlumberger, one of the 6 founders of the Nrf.
At the head of the half-title page, manuscript note by Jean Schlumberger, as a gift, to his friend Joseph Breitbach and quoting a thought by Michel de Montaigne : "Vingt septembre 1961, en la vraie amitié de laquelle je suis expert... (Montaigne III9) J.Schlumberger."
Provenance: from the libraries of Jean Schlumberger then Joseph Breitbach.
In 1929, the German writer and francophile Joseph Breitbach came to France and settled in Paris two years later. His books banned in Germany from 1933, he then applied for French nationality in 1937 while returning his German passport, making him stateless. Arrested in 1939 as a German native, Jean Schlumberger had him released, which sealed the beginning of a long friendship.