BALZAC (Honor de).Biblio.com
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1834249431834. Paris Madame Charles BÂŽchet puis Werdet 1834 ˆ 1837. 12 vol. au format in-8 218 x 151 mm de 2 ff. n.fol. 401 pp. et 1 f. ; 361 pp. et 3 ff. n.fol. ; 2 ff. n.fol. 386 pp. et 1 f. n.fol. ; 398 pp. et 1 f. n.fol. ; 384 pp. 1 f. n.fol. et 1 f. bl. ; 2 ff. n.fol. 387 pp. 1 f. n.fol. et 1 f. bl. ; 2 ff. n.fol. et 359 pp. ; 2 ff. n.fol. 357 pp. 1 f. n.fol. et 4 ff. de catalogue ÂŽditeur in fine ; 339 pp. ; 2 ff. n.fol. 366 pp. et 1 f. n.fol. ; 349 pp. et 1 f; n.fol. ; 390 pp. et 1 f. n.fol. brochÂŽs. Edition originale ; complÂte des 12 volumes la constituant. Ensemble - ˆ grandes marges - comportant l'insigne particularitÂŽ que chacun des exemplaires le composant a ici ÂŽtÂŽ imprimÂŽ sur papier de couleur rose. Les exemplaires sur papier de couleur se rencontrent presque toujours sÂŽparÂŽment. Il est donc extrÂmement rare de trouver pareil ensemble complet de ses douze volumes ; tous imprimÂŽs sur papier rose. ''Collection rare et de plus en plus recherchÂŽe'' signalait dÂŽjˆ Clouzot. Clouzot encore : ÔÕDÕune partie de ces douze volumes ont ÂŽtÂŽ tirÂŽs quelques exemplaires sur papier rose ou jonquille que lÕon rencontre sÂŽparÂŽment et qui sont fort recherchÂŽsÕÕ. ''Cette sÂŽrie de 12 volumes des Etudes de moeurs est fort rare aujourd'hui ; elle se rencontre parfois ˆ l'ÂŽtat brochÂŽ elle est rarissime en belle reliure du temps. C'est l'ÂŽdition originale d'EugÂŽnie Grandet qui en fait la valeur. Quelques exemplaire ont ÂŽtÂŽ imprimÂŽs sur papier jonquille ; ils sont d'une grande raretÂŽ''. in Carteret. ''Cette ÂŽdition considÂŽrÂŽe comme le premier essai de La ComÂŽdie humaine est fort rare aujourd'hui surtout en reliure d'ÂŽpoque''. in Escoffier. Premier essai de ce qui deviendra plus tard La ComÂŽdie Humaine ; ici composÂŽ de 3 sÂŽries de 4 volumes ScÂnes de la vie privÂŽe ScÂnes de la vie de province et ScÂnes de la vie parisienne. L'ensemble recÂle plusieurs romans en ÂŽdition originale : EugÂŽnie Grandet premier grand succÂs public de l'auteur La Fleur des Pois qui deviendra Le Contrat de mariage La Recherche de l'absolu les deux derniers chapitres de La Femme de trente ans La Femme abandonnÂŽe La GrenadiÂre L'Illustre Gaudissart La Grande BretÂche ou les Trois Vengeances La Vieille fille la premiÂre partie des Illusions perdues l'Histoire des Treize I. Ferragus chef des DÂŽvorants et II. Ne touchez pas la hache qui deviendra La Duchesse de Langeais La Fille aux Yeux d'Or La Comtesse ˆ deux maris qui deviendra Le Colonel Chabert aprÂs sa parution en feuilleton dans la revue l'Artiste en 1832. Clouzot Le Guide du bibliophile pp. 11 et 12 - Vicaire I Manuel de l'amateur de livres du XIXÂme 196 ˆ 199 - Carteret I Le TrÂŽsor du bibliophile romantique et moderne pp. 68 et suivantes ne mentionnant pas l'existence d'exemplaires imprimÂŽs sur papier rose - Rahir La BibliothÂque de l'amateur p. 306 ne faisant pas cas d'exemplaires imprimÂŽs sur papier de couleur - Escoffier Le Mouvement romantique 1231. Plats prÂŽsentant un ÂŽclat lÂŽgÂrement altÂŽrÂŽ ainsi que parfois quelques t‰ches. Manques aux dos ; entra”nant de fait une faiblesse du brochage. TrÂs rares et discrÂtes rousseurs dans le texte. Cerne claire affectant les fonds de cahiers des derniers feuillets dÕun des volumes. Nonobstant ensemble en belle condition. b42961 unknown
184259614Paris: Charpentier 1842. Fine. Charpentier Paris 1842 12 x 19 cm relié First definitive editions partly original.Bound in red half-shagreen with corners spine with four raised bands decorated with blind-stamped panels and fillets the entwined monogram of Jules Hetzel at the foot uncut copy contemporary binding.A few occasional spots of foxing.Inscribed by the author to Jules Hetzel as a token of the authors friendship. In the 1840s Balzac contributed to a collective volume illustrated with Grandvilles vignettes Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux issued in parts by a new publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel 18141886 who was to become a friend and play a crucial role in the consortium of publishers of La Comédie humaine. Balzac also assisted Hetzel in drafting texts signed P.-J. Stahl the publishers pseudonym. Roger Pierrot Honoré de Balzac Paris Fayard 1994 An outstanding copy inscribed by Balzac in a charming contemporary binding. Charpentier hardcover
1836179013Paris: Werdet 1836. Uncommon in the original wrappers First edition. This story of unrequited love partly mirroring Balzac's own relationship with Laure de Berny became the object of a highly publicized literary-legal controversy which boosted its commercial success. Balzac wrote the novel over the course of several years inspired by Sainte-Beuve's earlier romance Volupté. The first part was published in the Revue de Paris on 22 November 1835. The journal's editor François Buloz owned the rights to Balzac's novels which were to be published in that journal only. In December Balzac found out that his uncorrected proofs had been sold by Buloz to the owners of the Revue étrangère of St Petersburg without his consent and that the Russian journal had published them in October. Balzac sued Buloz and refused to send him the second part of the novel. "Given whom and what was involved the legal controversy found its way into the press. Buloz used his power influence and publications to attack Balzac viciously. Alexandre Dumas and other writers - fearful of the publisher's power - lined up with Buloz; Victor Hugo and George Sand with Balzac. In the end the court ruled for Balzac" Kornstein p. 91. The complete novel was published in these two volumes by Werdet on 1 June 1836. An account of the trial by Balzac features as a second introduction in the first volume and was not reprinted in the following editions. Le Lys dans la vallée is the last of four romances in Balzac's Scènes de la vie de campagne the sixth narrative cycle in La Comédie humaine. It "appears as the point of convergence of confluence of the previous works. Several themes outlined or already developed in the future Comédie humaine and the Contes are taken up illustrated highlighted" trans. from Donnard p. 897. 2 vols octavo. Original yellow wrappers printed in black edges untrimmed. In later glassine wrappers and housed in custom marbled paper slipcases and chemises with red morocco-grain roan backstrips. With the gilt leather bookplate of French collector and bibliophile Pierre Duché whose renowned library was sold in 1972. Spines with splits and wear at ends small repairs to vol. I spine front joints partially split but holding wrappers slightly toned and marked a few small chips and nicks contents foxed. A very good copy of this fragile publication. Vicaire I 202-3. Daniel Kornstein Unlikely Muse: Legal Thinking and Artistic Imagination 2010. Jean-Hervé Donnard ed. La Comédie humaine vol. IX 1978. hardcover
184286807Paris 1842. Fine. Balzac's Soon to be Lost Illusion Paris 12 mars 1842 13.50 x 26 cm 4 pages sur un feuillet Autograph letter signed by Honoré de Balzac to Sophie Koslowska. 4 pages in black ink on a bifolium. Usual folds. Very small lacks of paper along the horizontal fold of the first leaf. Published in his Correspondance 1819-1850 II. Paris Calmann-Lévy 1875 pp. 31-33. A long feverish letter by Balzac a few days before the premiere of Les Ressources de Quinola at the Odéon theater. The writer writes to his close friend Sophie Kozlowska daughter of Prince Kozlowski about the chaotic final preparations and urges her to fill the theater with all of Paris's Russian high society. Balzac wrote this important letter just as he was about to take one of the biggest gambles of his career. The writer wanted to convene a real audience for the premiere of Les Ressources de Quinola and have the play performed in front of a full house of paying spectators instead of using the famous claqueurs clappers traditionally seated in the parterre to encourage audience reactions which is described at length in Lost Illusions. His failed attempt was so publicized by all the newspapers that this performance proved the very necessity of claqueurs: The author preferred peril. Such is the reason for this first performance in which so many people were displeased to have been elevated to the dignity of independent judges Editor's notes in Balzac's OEuvres complètes A. Houssiaux 1855. La Mina wrote me that you were ill and it struck me as a blow as if someone had told Napoleon that his aide-de-camp had died: disregarding Kozlowska's fragile health Balzac set about filling the twelve hundred seats of the Théâtre-Français with all the high-ranking and wealthy spectators Paris had to offer. He relied on the relations of his carissima Sofia to pay for the priciest seats an inclination that earned him accusations of speculation. He indeed takes particular care going over prices in the letter: We'll play next Wednesday barring any misfortune. The first seatings with four places are one hundred francs a box and everyone wants to be there. But the fashionable place where the Aguados the Rothschilds the Doudeauvilles the Castries etc. are is the loge des premières fermées because one feels at home. . Lamartine has asked me for a box: I'll put him between the Russians. Princess Troubetskoï is not the same one whose husband I know. See to it that you write to the prince And don't forget your Makanof . So: balconies twenty-five francs; stalls twenty francs; premières découvertes twenty-five francs a seat; secondes découvertes twenty francs; secondes fermées twenty-five francs; baignoires twenty francs a seat. . Ah! if you only knew what wealth of beautiful women! There will be no clappers in the parterre which is priced at five francs . Write a note to Princess Constantine Razumovska. I don't dare do it myself. For you and for your mother you will go to the premières découvertes; I will place you well. These hurried lines reveal Balzac's great expectations. He deeply believed in the merits of his comedy play about a man of industrial genius in 16th century Spain although the play's reception certainly suffered from Balzac's poor choices during its premiere. The writer expected to solve his financial difficulties and travel with his beloved Madame Hanska following the play's success. Having finished writing the final acts in a hurry he describes the terrible days leading up to the premiere: I'm overwhelmed on edge! I have the actors rehearse in the morning the entire cast during the day and the actresses in the evening. There are twenty thousand francs worth of costumes in the play. The sets are brand new. I'm told that the work is a masterpiece and that makes me shudder! It will always be frighteningly solemn. Some lines even border on the paranoid abundantly underlined with unknown
182963413Paris: Urbain Canel 1829. Fine. Urbain Canel Paris 1829 10 x 17.50 cm 4 volumes reliés Very rare and highly sought-after first edition of Balzac's first novel signed by his name. Published a small number of copies this first novel whose original title is inspired by the last of the Mohicans James Cooper reappeared reworked in 1834 under a new title: The Chouans . This first important work of Balzac also marks the beginning of the comedy Humaine which she constitura since 1845 a scene of the military life . Bindings in half red Russian leather smooth backs adorned with gilt and black threads gold friezes in heads and tails marbled paper plates Contemporary binding. A restored bit and a flap sheet of the first volume changed some small foxing. Exceptional exemplary set in a charming Contemporary binding. Urbain Canel hardcover
183077791Tours 1830. Fine. Tours 23 juin 1830 13.20 x 19.90 cm une feuille Unpublished autograph letter: As soon as I had arrived in Tours I was thrown on the coasts of Brittany by the best conditioned desire that had ever seized a man to shut off the atmosphere of Paris and its ideas by going to run on the beautiful rocks that border the sea in Brittany Tours 23 June 1830 13.2 x 19.9cm one leaf Unpublished handwritten letter signed by Honoré de Balzac one and a half pages written in black ink on a leaf of white paper. Transversal folds and ink a little faded at the bottom of the first page without making it difficult to read. The man from Tours poetically recounts his wanderings on the Breton coast during a trip he took in the company of Madame de Berny. Together they sailed up the Loire in a boat all the way to Le Croisic: As soon as I had arrived in Tours I was thrown on the coasts of Brittany by the best conditioned desire that had ever seized a man to shut off the atmosphere of Paris and its ideas by going to run on the beautiful rocks that border the sea in Brittany and there once arrived I stayed a fortnight the most delicious in the world running on the bays on the kelp collecting the pucelages that are in large numbers on the sea sand in reverse of the rue Vivienne. The pucelages here are shellfish so named because of their vulvoid shape allowing Balzac an allusion to the prostitution very popular at the time that occupied the Galerie Vivienne. This amusing letter is addressed to one of the editors of La Silhouette magazine as evidenced in particular by the sign off at the end of the letter mentioning the founder of the periodical: A thousand good friendships do not forget to give a large part to our friend Victor Ratier. Balzac also mentions several articles: I am writing to give you a sign of life proof of interest and of friendship but I write to you briefly because I have twenty letters to answer and I promise you a letter for.1st July which will contain the end of the charlatan issue 2 la bella dona and finally the articles that will have passed through my head and with which you will be furnished so as to not ask anything of me for a month or two and so that around August you will be my publisher. We have not found any trace of said letter in the writer's correspondence no more besides than the continuation of the Charlatan the first part of which was published in the second issue of La Silhouette. No article under the title of Bella Dona appears in the following issues either although Balzac emphasizes in his letter the desire to provide other texts given that the charms of the Loire must not make him forget that he is the poorest of those who live on a quill pen. A beautiful and spicy unpublished letter. unknown
183386496s. l. Neuchâtel 1833. Fine. Eve's first kiss: 'The gods grant no favours untainted.' s. l. Neuchâtel 29 septembre 1833 13.40 x 21.10 cm une page sur un double feuillet Autograph letter signed by Honoré de Balzac addressed to his friend the writer Charles de Bernard. One page written in black ink on a bifolium. On the verso of the second leaf appears the address of the recipient Charles de Bernard du Grail written in Balzacs hand along with postal stamps and the seal bearing the arms of the Balzac dEntraigues family which the author had appropriated. A few minor holes not affecting the text; fold marks as usual from mailing. Published in his correspondence Paris Calmann Lévy 1876 CXIV pp. 252253. Balzac wrote this letter four days after his very first meeting and first kiss with Madame Hanska in Neuchâtel following many months of epistolary correspondence. « Jai été très heureux ici. Je suis très content de ce que jai vu le pays est délicieux ; mais vous savez que Jupiter a deux tonneaux et que les dieux nont point de faveurs qui soient pures. » ""I have been very happy here. I am most pleased with what I have seen; the country is delightful. But you know that Jupiter has two jars and the gods grant no favours that are untainted."" Two years after receiving the first letter from the Stranger Éveline Rzewuska a lovestruck Balzac left Paris to join her in Switzerland. His brief stop in Besançon ostensibly a convenient detour served as a polite pretext for his departure from the capitalwhere he took the opportunity to visit his correspondent Charles de Bernard. « Il me semble que je vous ai bien peu remercié de la bonne journée que vous mavez donnée ; mais jespère vous prouver que je ne suis point un ingrat. À mercredi donc ; vous devez penser que jaurai bien du plaisir à vous revoir vous qui avez fait que mon voyage à Besançon na pas été inutile et que jy ai trouvé du plaisir ». I fear I thanked you all too little for the delightful day you gave me; but I hope to prove that I am not ungrateful. Until Wednesday then you must know how much I look forward to seeing you again you who ensured that my journey to Besançon was not in vain and even brought me joy. After a day in Besançon and a chaotic journey by mail coach Balzac finally met his beloved though regrettably in the company of her husband Count Hanski. Seizing upon the Counts absence the writer stole a long-awaited kiss with Madame Hanska on an ancient stone bench upon the hill of Crêt. In the rapture of their first encounter he could not help but invoke La Fontaines ominous fable in his letter: « mais vous savez que Jupiter a deux tonneaux et que les dieux nont point de faveurs qui soient pures ». but you know that Jupiter has two jars and the gods offer no favours untainted. His love affair with Madame Hanska would prove far from serene as Gonzague Saint Bris aptly summed it up: eighteen years of love sixteen of waiting two of happiness and six months of marriage. Neuchâtel would remain a powerful emblem of their union recurring in some sixty of their letters. Neuchâtel is like the white lily he wrote to her pure with a penetrating fragrance youth freshness brilliance hope happiness glimpsed. De Bernard who had previously arranged his journey to Switzerland was once again tasked with organising Balzacs return: « Jaurai le plaisir de vous revoir mercredi 2 octobre. Voulez-vous avoir lobligeance de me retenir une place à la malle pour Paris ». I shall have the pleasure of seeing you again on Wednesday 2 October. Would you be so kind as to reserve me a place in the mail coach to Paris The journey separating him once again from his beloved proved wretched: The mail coach was fully booked for six days so my friend from Besançon Charles de Bernard was unable to secure me a place. I was thus obliged to travel on the roof of a diligence in the company of five Swiss from the canton of Vaud unknown
184273008Paris: FurneDubochetHetzel & Paulinpuis Alexandre Houssiaux 1842. Fine. Furne Dubochet Hetzel & Paulin puis Alexandre Houssiaux Paris 1842-1855 14.50 x 22 cm 20 volumes reliés Honoré de BALZAC & Honoré DAUMIER & Charles Constant Albert Nicolas d'Arnoux de Limoges Saint-Saëns dit BERTALL & Paul GAVARNI & Tony JOHANNOT & Célestin NANTEUIL uvres complètes de H. de Balzac Complete Works Furne Dubochet Hetzel Paulin puis Alexandre Houssiaux Paris 1842-1855 14.5 x 22 cm 20 volumes in contemporary half shagreen First collective edition sold as the Works comprising as well as numerous texts published for the first time a new version of the Human Comedy reviewed and revised by Balzac. This is also the first illustrated edition. Contemporary half blue shagreen over marbled paper boards spines slightly sunned in five compartments with thin raised bands decorated with gilt dots and compartments with triple blind-ruled frames gilt fleurons to centre marbled endpapers and pastedowns. A little foxing in some volumes a very small stain to page 119 of volume 4 another to page 321 of volume 8 a tear to half-title of volume 9 a small damp stain to corner of pages 449 and following of volume 10 stain to pp. 173-74 of volume 14 stains to pages 303 to 307 of vol. 16. The full set of 152 hors-texte plates by the best artists of the age including Bertall Daumier Gavarni Johannot Nanteuil as well as illustrations to text. Four rejected plates have been added bringing the number of plates in this copy to 156. There are so many reasons for emphasising the interest of this edition one of the most important in French literature. Having had a turbulent existence and confused and having been several times republished in a great number of copies it is very rare in its first form and in this first version even rarer in a contemporary uniform binding than with a modern binding and the wrappers preserved cf Clouzot. A very good and rare copy in a contemporary uniform binding ca 1855 with all the plates called for by Clouzot and four additional ones. FurneDubochetHetzel & Paulinpuis Alexandre Houssiaux hardcover
184183639s. l. Passy Paris 1841. Fine. s. l. Passy Paris « mardi matin » 28 décembre 1841 13.50 x 21.60 cm une page sur un double feuillet enveloppe jointe Autograph letter signed by Honoré de Balzac to Jean-Baptiste Violet d'Epagny director of the Odéon theater. One page in black ink on a double sheet. Enclosed and pasted on the second page is the envelope of this letter written in Balzac's hand.""My dear director under the terms of our agreements I am ready to read I have chosen tomorrow Wednesday and I have told your stage manager the names of the actors to whom I entrust our play. I've done a bit of your job I've conquered Madame Dorval who will make you rich I'll bring her myself. Find here my dear d'Épagny a thousand regards I have given you proof of our old acquaintance by choosing you for Les Ressources de Quinola I shall expect a return in our relations and I am entitled to a great deal of zeal."" Les Ressources de Quinola is both in the spirit Les Fourberies de Scapin and Les Noces de Figaro. From the 1840s until his death Balzac's ambition was to achieve a reputation comparable to his illustrious predecessors Molière and Beaumarchais. Although this proved to be a hope as vain as it was determined Balzac never doubted failure after failure that his success was imminent. On July 15 1841 d'Épagny was appointed director of the Odéon . as any theater director would have done in his place he spent summer vacations organizing his winter programme. He asked Balzac for a play and Balzac complied choosing Les Ressources de Quinola. . We all know what a fuss was made about Balzac's play and how childishly naive the author was in filling the room with the highest Parisian society and foreign elite in order to make snobs want to join such a brilliant assembly. . Madame Dorval more astute than the author refused the role intended for her as soon as Balzac read . She did well for one never saw a more complete failure"" L'Amateur d'autographes mai 1911 Interesting letter revealing the beginnings of the creation of Les Ressources de Quinola and the author's habit of reading his play for the actors who then voted to accept or reject it. Provenance: Arthur Meyer collection then ""AGR"" stamp on letter and envelope. unknown
183659886Paris: Werdet 1836. Fine. Werdet Paris 1836 12 x 19.50 cm 2 volumes reliés Rare and highly sought-after first edition . of which only a portion of the copies contains a preface cf. Clouzot. The important account of the lawsuit concerning The Lily of the Valley that precedes the novel was not retained in subsequent editions and is often lacking in a number of the copies published by Werdet. Copy complete with both the preface and the account of the lawsuit that opposed Balzac to the publisher François Buloz. Contemporary half green sheepskin bindings smooth spines decorated with gilt romantic typographical motifs gilt fillets at heads and tails marbled paper boards paste paper endpapers and pastedowns marbled edges contemporary romantic bindings. Some minor foxing bookseller's descriptive label pasted at head of front pastedown of the first volume. Exceptional copy in an elegant contemporary binding. Werdet hardcover
1835177783Paris: Librairie de Werdet 1835. A vast monument of Western prose fiction" Kanes First edition in book form first issue without the subsequently added preface this copy with the scarce original yellow wrappers bound in. Balzac's masterpiece and keystone of the Comedie Humaine not only provided his first systematic use of recurring characters but also a model which "determined the form and content of the European novel for the next century" Kanes p. 10. Le Père Goriot was published in four instalments in the Revue de Paris between 14 December 1834 and 11 February 1835. A sophisticated and pessimistic study of bourgeois society after the French revolution it was an immediate success and caused an upheaval in the press. It was reviewed by all major Parisian magazines both positively and negatively: the Journal de Femmes praised Balzac's analysis of female psychology while others questioned the morality of the story and accused him of plagiarising the theme of King Lear. Balzac responded to some of these comments in a preface which was separately printed and inserted in the second issue published on 8 March. A second edition appeared in May. Balzac proudly stated: "Le Père Goriot is a raging success; my fiercest enemies have had to bend the knee. I have triumphed over everything over friends as well as the envious" quoted in Kanes p. 12. The story was quickly adapted for stage appearing at the Théâtre des Variétés and Théâtre du Vaudeville in April 1835. As a testament to the novel's influence Zola remarked 35 years later that "how not to be Balzac" was one of his major problems. The well-known line that Varturin tells Eugene "In that case I will make you an offer that no one would decline" was famously reworked by Puzo in The Godfather. 2 vols octavo 210 x 128 mm. Bound with half-titles and table of contents at end as issued. Late 19th-century quarter calf red and blue spine labels compartments ruled in gilt marbled sides and endpapers top edges gilt fore and bottom edges untrimmed green silk bookmarkers original yellow front wrappers and vol. I rear wrapper bound in and with paper restoration at edges. Spines lightly toned mild rubbing sporadic foxing. A good set. Vicaire I 199-200. Martin Kanes Père Goriot: Anatomy of a Troubled World 1993. unknown
18421697391842. GRANDVILLE J.J. Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux. Two volumes. 8 386 6; 4 390 6 pp. with 201 engraved plates and 120 vignettes illustrating the text. Large 8vo 261 x 180 mm. uniformly bound in contemporary black half morocco. Paris: Hetzel et Paulin: 1842-1844. A splendid copy of a Grandville masterpiece accompanied by two original watercolours by Grandville and a long autograph letter from the publisher Hetzel. A fantastic example of anthropomorphic illustration and an important precursor of surrealism. These illustrations represent some of Grandville's most memorable creations. Many of the plates are of single figures but there are also satirical scenes of everyday life monsters animals looking at politicians caged at the zoo etc. The texts contained herein were written by such notable authors as Balzac Charles Nodier George Sand Louis Viardot and even J. Hetzel the publisher under the pseudonym of P.J. Stahl. Hetzel was the motivating force behind this work which he undertook in order to "give words to Grandville's marvellous animals and to join our pen with his pencil thereby coming to his assistance in criticizing the aberrations of our epoch and by preference among these aberrations those which are of every period and every country." Gordon N. Ray writes: "Through Grandville's animals Hetzel and his colleagues offered a witty and telling commentary on contemporary politics and personalities." Some slight edge wear one of the drawings with spotting else fine. PROVENANCE: Jacques Crepineau with his bookplate. Ray 194. Carteret III 552-59. Rebeyrat Catalogue bibliographique et bibliophilique in: J.J. Grandville 1985 pp. 289-90. unknown
1839803451839. Fine. s. d. ca 1839 13 x 8 cm une feuille Signed handwritten letter to Louis Desnoyers ca 1839 13 x 8 cm one leaf Handwritten letter signed by Honoré de Balzac addressed to Louis Desnoyers written on a white piece of paper in black ink. My dear Mr Desnoyers extraordinarily today I attend a diplomatic dinner of good-natured folk who want to laugh and drink and as I am in a stupor at work I have not had the courage to refuse this debauchery; I will therefore not be at home. Come early Sunday morning. / Yours / de Balzac. Louis Desnoyers plays an important role in the foundation of the Société des gens de lettres which aims to protect literary and artistic property and to create a solidarity fund. Balzac supported the creation of this Society of which Desnoyers was vice-president. Amusing letter testimony of Balzac's love of good food. unknown
184686647Bâle Basel 1846. Fine. ""If the painting collection advertised in the newspapers on rue du Vieux Marché is still for sale"" Bâle Basel 18 mai 1846 13.6 x 21.8 cm 2 pages sur un feuillet Autograph letter signed by Honoré de Balzac to Gustave Silbermann dated 18 May 1846 with the blind stamp of the Hôtel des Trois Rois in Basel. A delicate document with fold marks that have caused some tears with some minute lacks of paper affecting a few letters including the last two letters of the author's signature. A fine epistolary testament to Balzac's unrestrained passion for art collecting in this likely unpublished letter addressed to his friend the Strasbourg bookseller and printer Gustave Silbermann. Balzac was planning a stay in Strasbourg during which he became engaged to Madame Hanska. Exhausted by the frantic pace of writing La Comédie Humaine Balzac set out to leave Paris for an extended tour of Europe. ""On 25 March 1846 Balzac joined Mme Hanska in Rome where he had never been before and was dazzled by the city. In Rome then in Civitavecchia Genoa and all along the way back to Basel via Lake Maggiore the Simplon and Geneva they bought paintings works of art furniture"" Balzac continuing ""with determination the creation of his interior décor"" M. Maximovitch Honoré de Balzac et Mme Hanska French Embassy in Ukraine. A year later he would publish Le Cousin Ponsarguably the finest literary expression of this passion in which the art collection is steeped into every page and the protagonist suffers from what Balzac himself called ""bricabracomania."" Writing from Basel Balzac still hoped to make further acquisitions in Strasbourg where he refers here to a ""painting collection advertised in the newspapers on rue du Vieux Marché."" It was for Madame Hanska that Balzac intensified his activities during this period ""driven by a genuine frenzy for acquisition. It was the time when he was preparing the home he had purchased on rue Fortunée now rue Balzac for his future wife. Even before moving in from 15 April 1847 onwards he was antiquing everywhere placing orders and enthusiastically pursuing real or imagined bargains."" Nicole Mozet Balzac collectionneur. This stay in Strasbourg would prove pivotal in their relationship as Balzac would later confide to his sister that they had made their engagement official there years before their long overdue marriage: ""we were engaged from 1846 in Strasbourg"" letter of 15 March 1850. In the same letter Balzac also asks Silbermann to arrange his transportationthis loyal friend even supported Balzac in his relationship with his future wife: ""Should Countess Hanska pass through Strasbourg during a journey it is this devoted friend Silbermann who is entrusted with delivering her a letter from her lover ensuring the comfort of her stay tending to her needs and even taking care of her travel provisions."" Yves Cambefort. An unpublished moment in the life of Balzac the tableaumaniac as he travels to Strasbourg to seal his union with his great love. ""I am counting on your kindness to reserve a seat for me in the mail coach to Strasbourg from the 25th of this monthnot earlier; later is no problem so long as Ive departed before the 31st. Pay for the seat if necessary and I will reimburse you when I pass through Write me a note in Heidelberg at the Hôtel de la Cour de Bade to let me know on which day the seat will be booked If the painting collection advertised in the newspapers on rue du Vieux Marché is still for sale "" unknown
18551696331855. DORÉ Gustave. Les Contes Drolatiques. By Honore de Balzac. 8vo. 205 x 130 mm bound in nineteeenth century full crushed brown morocco in a slipcase. Paris: Garnier Freres 1873. A superb copy of this Doré masterpiece with fine impressions of the engraving printed on Chine and with "huitieme edition" on the title-page. Gordon Ray called Doré'ss illustrations for the Contes Drolatiques "Doré's early masterpiece." The first illustrated edition was issued with 425 original designs by Gustave Doré comprising 103 full-page engravings and 322 vignettes of varying sizes. It is well recorded that Balzac's widow granted permission for the illustrated edition only on the condition: "that no artist but Doré should be allowed to illustrate her husband's works" Anthony North-Peat Gossip from Paris 1864-69 p. 324. "Si de tous les ouvrages illustrés par Gustave Doré il ne devait en rester qu'un ce serait celui-là: l'illustration est à la hauteur du texte et ce n'est pas peu dire puisque Balzac considérait les "Contes drolatiques" comme son chef-d'oeuvre" Brivois Bibliographie des ouvrages illustrés du XIXe siècle 1883 p. 32. "Ce livre est considéré comme le chef-d'oeuvre d'illustration de Gustaf Doré il est apprécié pour son format agréable et la qualité de son illustration variée et abondante: 425 compositions vignettes et grands bois compris dans la pagination." Carteret III p. 50. Ray Art of the French Illustrated Book 244. See: Rahir 304. Beraldi VI 34 "Un des chef-d'oeuvres de Doré: cette illustration est étonnante d'invention de joyeuse humeur vraiment gauloise et rabelaisienne et pétillante d'esprit." Leblanc 39. Provenance: The library of William Ivins inscribed to him by his father. unknown
18999031102Philadelphia: George Barrie's Sons 1899. Hardcover. Very good. Beautifully bound in half red leather with red cloth boards and spines stamped in gilt and five raised bands. Each volume contains a striking frontispiece etching. Fine except for minimal wear to corners and heads and heels of some volumes. All text blocks in fine condition. 5 1/2 x 8 inches. <br/><br/> George Barrie's Sons hardcover
1895256800Philadelphia: Barrie 1895. hardcover. near fine. Over 350 fine full page etchings by various artists each with tissue guards. 52 of 53 volumes 8vo 3/4 blue morocco decoratively gilt spines t.e.g. Philadelphia: George Barrie 1896- 1900. One of 1000 numbered copies. A near fine set lacking the 7th volume of 9 from the Philosophic and Analytic Studies grouping.<br/> <br/> Barrie unknown
1899022602Boston: Hardy Pratt and Co 1899. Limited Edition. Octavo. Limited to only 40 sets. The present set is #2. A few volumes unopened. In 40 volumes illustrated with photogravures hand-colored by Jeannniot Adrien Moreau and several others who were specially chosen by the firm Goupil & Co. The set has a total of 283 hand-colored plates 7 per volume except volume 40 which has 10. with tissue guards present. Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley who most likely knows more about Balzac and his works than anyone in this country. He was her life's study. In the preface which was written by Balzac in 1856 was placed in volume I to give Balzac's own interpretation of his books. Balzac was an early pioneer of literary realism. He used incidents from his life and the people around him in works like Eugénie Grandet and Louis Lambert. His writings influenced several other writers including Henry James who wrote about him as did William Saroyan Marcel Proust adored him. He had been compared with Charles Dickens. An exceptionally fine set bound in 3/4 green morocco over marbled paper covered boards with matching endpapers raised bands lettered and decorated in gilt top edges gilt all others uncut. No names or bookplates spines are evenly faded but still quite beautiful. A monumental work. Hardy, Pratt and Co unknown
1897676441897. Complete in 53 octavo volumes. Limited to 1000 copies of which this is number 164. Original half red morocco over red cloth gilt stamped spines with two blue-gray morocco labels gilt-stamped. TEG. Edges bumped. Very good.<br> <br> George. Royce.<br> <br> HBS 67644.<br> <br> $5000. unknown
1899164399Boston: Little Brown 1899. hardcover. very good. Girardet Jules & Guyon Maximilienne. Centenary Edition. 33 volumes. Illustratrations by Jules Girardet and Maximilienne Guyon with tissue guards. Short 8vo bound in pretty 1/2 bright red morocco over marbled boards; gilt-stamped fruit tree motif along spines and dotted raised bands marbled endpapers top edge gilt. Boston: Little Brown 1899. Very good.<br/> <br/> A few spine ends are lightly rubbed but overall a very nice set.<br/> <br/> Little Brown unknown
18421672321842. GRANDVILLE J.J. Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux. 2 volumes. 8 386 6; 4 390 6 pp. with 201 engraved plates and 120 vignettes illustrating the text. Large 8vo 261 x 180 mm. uniformly bound in publisher's green cloth with gilt vignettes of Grandville designs on the covers and spine. Paris: Hetzel et Paulin: 1842. First edition of a Grandville masterpiece bound in the publisher's gilt-stamped cloth. A fantastic example of anthropomorphic illustration and an important precursor of surrealism. These illustrations represent some of Grandville's most memorable creations. Many of the plates are of single figures but there are also satirical scenes of everyday life monsters animals looking at politicians caged at the zoo etc. The texts contained herein were written by such notable authors as Balzac Charles Nodier George Sand Louis Viardot and even J. Hetzel the publisher under the pseudonym of P.J. Stahl. Hetzel was the motivating force behind this work which he undertook in order to "give words to Grandville's marvelous animals and to join our pen with his pencil thereby coming to his assistance in criticizing the aberrations of our epoch and by preference among these aberrations those which are of every period and every country." Gordon N. Ray writes: "Through Grandville's animals Hetzel and his colleagues offered a witty and telling commentary on contemporary politics and personalities." Some minor rubbing professional repair to rear hinge of Volume 2 overall clean near fine. Ray 194. Carteret III 552-59. Rebeyrat Catalogue bibliographique et bibliophilique in: J.J. Grandville 1985 pp. 289-90. hardcover
189927193Philadelphia: George Barrie 1899. Memorial edition limited to 100 copies lettered A-Z and 1-74 this copy "U". 53 volumes in full crushed turquoise morocco. Spine in five raised bands gilt lined with a fleur de lis design. Boards with gilt lines fleur de lis in the corners with a red fleur de lis as the central medallion. Gilt inner dentelles red morocco panel inside front board red moire silk endpapers. Five raised bands at spine w/ decorative gilt in the compartments; top edge gilt others untrimmed. Two sets of plates for each illustration printed on parchment paper.<br /> <br /> Owing to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multi-faceted characters; even his lesser characters are complex morally ambiguous and fully human. Inanimate objects are imbued with character as well; the city of Paris a backdrop for much of his writing takes on many human qualities. His writing influenced many famous writers including the novelists Émile Zola Charles Dickens Marcel Proust Gustave Flaubert and Henry James and filmmakers François Truffaut and Jacques Rivette. Many of Balzac's works have been made into films and continue to inspire other writers. James called him "really the father of us all." Wikipedia<br /> <br /> The boards are a deep turquoise the spines are unevenly colored which is quite beautiful on the shelf suggesting almost opalescent hues of turquoise green and tan. One volume with a small expert spine repair . <br /> <br /> Overall a magnificent set of this foundational French novelist. George Barrie unknown
1895831A12DParis : George Barrie c1895-9. Leather. Near Fine. 9" by 5.5". Various . Complete magnum opus of French novelist Honoré de Balzac 'La Comedie Humaine' in beautiful uniform Riverside Press half crushed morocco bindings. Undated Paris edition published by George Barrie comprised of forty-five volumes in uniform leather bindings signed Riverside Press in the original French. Present are vols. 1-5 and 7-46. Dated from date provided on plates. Each complete with half title. Edition Definitive limited to one-hundred copies this number ninety-nine. Limitation given to verso half-title vol. 21 all volumes printed on fine Japon vellum paper. Each volume featuring full page plates by a variety of artists including Gaston Bussiere Pierre Vidal Georges Cain Robaudi Daniel Hernandez Edouard Toudouze and others.Included in the series are the following:Esther with nine full page plates;Un Drame sans les Prisons; La derniere Incarnation de Vautrin with eight full page plates; Cesar Birotteau with seven full page plates; La Cousine Bette with nine full page plates;Le Cousin Pons with eight full page plates;Eugenie Grandet with seven full page plates; Le Lys dans la Vallee with eight plates;Les Paysans with eight plates;La Peau de Chagrin with eight plates; Histoire des Treize with nine full page plates;Les Employes &c. with eight full page plates; La Maison Nucingen with five full page plates; Les Petits Bourgeois in two volumes sixteen full page plates; La Femme de Trente Ans with eight full page plates; Ursule Mirouet with seven plates;Les Celibataires in two volumes illustrated with sixteen full page plates; Les Chouans with eight plates;Physiologie du Mariage with ten full page plates; Petites Miseres de la Vie Conjugale with four full page plates;La Recherche de l'Absolu with nine full page plates;La Maison du Chat qui Pelote with eight plates;L'Enfant Maudit with eight plates;La Cure de Village with eight plates; Le Medicin de Campagne with five full page plates;Le Depute d'Arcis with eight full page plates;Une Tenebreuse Affaire with three full page plates; Illusions Perdues in three volumes with twenty-three full page plates;La Vieille Fille with seven full page plates;Beatrix with seven full page plates; Madame de la Chanterie with seven full page plates; Louis Lambert with nine full page plates; Honorine with eight full page plates;Colonel Chabert with ten full page plates;Memoires de Deux Jeunes Mariées with eight full page plates;Le Contrat de Mariage with eight full page plates;Modeste Mignon with six plates;Sur Catherine de Medicis with five full page plates; Les Marana with eight full page plates; Un Debut dans la Vie with seven full page plates; Le Conte Drolatique in two volumes with thirteen full page plates. Rebound in exquisite half crushed morocco uniform bindings over cloth covered boards signed Riverside Press with five raised bands gilt tooling to spine renewed endpapers edges in gilt. Externally excellent with minor shelf wear occasional minor rubbing to head and tail of spine back strip lightly faded. Minor chipping to front board odd volume. Internally firmly bound. Pages bright and clean. Occasional leaf unopened. Illustrations protected with protective tissue guards. Near Fine George Barrie hardcover
183560079Paris: Werdet 1835. Fine. Werdet Paris 1835 14.50 x 23 cm 2 volumes reliés First edition for Séraphita and third version of Louis Lambert. Reliures in half morocco covers and spine preserved bindings signed by Champs. A nice copy rare and sought-after. Werdet unknown
185851941Librairie Nouvelle 1858. Fine. Librairie Nouvelle 1858 11 x 17 cm relié New edition single volume from the complete works. Reading binding in half green percaline squared spine glued paper title labels skillful restorations to joints corners slightly bumped modest contemporary binding. Copy presented in tobacco calf chemise smooth spine decorated with double gilt fillets date at foot tobacco calf-backed slipcase the ensemble signed by Goy & Vilaine. Precious autograph inscription signed by Ewelina Hanska ""Madame de Balzac Princesse Hanska"" to Angelo de Sorr. Angelo de Sorr pseudonym of Ludovic Sclafer is a Bordeaux writer and friend of Aurélien Scholl Charles Monselet and the Goncourt brothers. He published in 1855 Les Pinadas which met with great acclaim. This first novel about the Bordeaux moors was praised notably by Théophile Gautier who declared: ""Its author a disciple of Balzac has revealed to us the superstitions and customs of these strange lands."" Other critics subsequently noted the Balzacian influences in the novel. Thus Paul d'Amby in L'Artiste: ""The author of Les Pinadas has been keenly concerned with Balzac's manner and we approve his choice of guide."" When Madame Hanska offers him this story of a genius who died at his task Angelo Sorr has just published Les Inutiles whose style is again compared in the press to his model: ""One senses a preoccupation with Balzac's manner; the master's path is the right one; we would not turn anyone away from it and we esteem M. de Sorr's talent"" in La Correspondance littéraire 1858. Moving inscription from the famous epistolary lover and ephemeral wife of Balzac who thus cultivates the memory of her lover who died barely a few months after their marriage. Their long-distance love story was summarized thus by Gonzague Saint Bris: ""eighteen years of love sixteen years of waiting two years of happiness and six months of marriage."" Eight years after the poet's death this moving dedication from the legatee to the disciple testifies to the strength of a love that knew how to resist all separations. Librairie Nouvelle unknown
