Collectibles

1861 · 83274 — Paris: Poulet Malassis & De Broise 1861. Fine. Poulet Malassis & De Broise Paris 1861 12.50 x 19 cm relié The second édition originale on ordinary paper. Fifteen hundred copies had been printed plus 4 on chine paper a few copies on hollande and on vélin. Complete with the portrait of the author by Félix Bracquemond often missing here in first state on papier chine pasted on the page before letters i.e. “L'Artiste” on top of the portrait. Orange half cloth Bradel binding smooth spine double ruled in gilt gilt date at foot slightly scratched brown shagreen title-label marbled paper boards slightly later 19th-century binding. Mistakenly considered as “partly original” this edition was entirely revised by the author with 35 newly composed poems and 55 “deeply rewritten” poems profondément remaniés among the 129 poems. This true new first edition of Les Fleurs du Mal is the culmination of Baudelaire's grand œuvre and the only text of reference for foreign language translations. AN EDITION WORTHY OF FURTHER RESEARCH Long considered a simple expanded edition this important publication has received little scholarly interest although it offers a valuable and instructive research area: namely the different states of Bracquemond's engraving but also the misprints of the very first copies partly corrected during printing including two missing initials in our copy p. 20 and 49 added in ink at the time. It strangely resonates with a remark made by Charles Baudelaire to his editor in January 1861: “Without a doubt the book has good general appearance; but until the last good leaf I found gross negligences. In this house it is the proofreaders who are lacking. For example they don't understand punctuation from a logical point of view; and many other things. There are also broken letters fallen letters Roman numerals of unequal size and length etc. .” His editor Poulet-Malassis had indeed separated from his printer De Broise and the new Fleurs du Mal edition was printed by Simon Raçon in Paris. This change of printer could also be linked with the foxing present in numerous second edition copies which could be explained by a paper of lesser quality making copies without foxing especially rare. POSTERITY'S CHOICE “Les Fleurs du Mal have two faces. To the third one it is allowed to dream”. When Claude Pichois collected Baudelaire's works for the Pléiade edition he had to choose between three: the first of 1857 the 1861 edition revised by the author and the last published shortly after Baudelaire's death in 1868. Although the 1868 third edition is the most complete with 25 added poems its “architecture” and perhaps even the choice of unpublished poems may not have accurately reflected the poet's initial wishes. This is certainly the more comprehensive however it can only be qualified as “partly original”. Along with an introduction by Théophile Gautier the poet Théodore de Banville established the order of the edition and included numerous unpublished poems among the already existing ones. The mythical historically influential 1857 first edition obviously cannot be stripped from its princeps status. With its famous misprints carefully hand corrected on the first copies given out by the author its censored poems missing from the second edition but above all its thoughtful and corrected editing right up to the very last proofs and to the point of driving his editor crazy nicknamed “Coco mal perché” that Baudelaire exhausted with remarks and criticisms the so-called “1857” edition is unquestionably a landmark in literary and poetic history. The few copies containing the condemned pieces are among the most desirable bibliophilic treasures. However the first edition could not be considered the sole form of Baudelaire's masterpiece as the poet thoroughly revisited it in the following years. Far from a simple collection of poems Les Fleurs du Mal is built from a unique narrative logic in the history of poetry. As his editor Pou Poulet Malassis & De Broise hardcover