Alain-Fournier (pseudonym of Henri-Alban Fournier, 1886-1914) - photo 1
Alain-Fournier (pseudonym of Henri-Alban Fournier, 1886-1914) - photo 2
Alain-Fournier (pseudonym of Henri-Alban Fournier, 1886-1914) - photo 3

Alain-Fournier (pseudonym of Henri-Alban Fournier, 1886-1914)

Lot 68
15.12.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 100
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1108867
Lot 68 | Alain-Fournier (pseudonym of Henri-Alban Fournier, 1886-1914)
Estimate value
£ 25 000 – 30 000
Alain-Fournier (pseudonym of Henri-Alban Fournier, 1886-1914)
Le Grand Meaulnes. Paris: Émile-Paul Frères, 1913.
[With, tipped in:] – autograph letter signed (‘H Alain-Fournier’) to [Georges Le Cardonnel] ('Cher ami'), n.p., 24 June 1913. One page, 175 x 135mm.

12mo (185 x 115mm). Printed on green paper, imprint on p.366 dated September 1913 (p.132 lightly marked). Dark brown crushed morocco, sides and compartments bordered with gilt fillets and green morocco inlays, all edges gilt, original pale green printed wrappers bound in; housed in custom slipcase by Edmond Klein. Provenance: René Gaffé (full-page bookplate bound in) - Charles Hayoit (leather label on endpaper, sale Sotheby's, Paris, 30 November-1 December 2001, lot 928) – Sotheby’s, Paris, 15 May 2012, lot 110.

First edition in book form of one of the finest French novels of the century, this being one of just 6 (or possibly 10) copies printed on green paper for the author. Accompanied by an autograph letter to literary critic Georges Le Cardonnel (1872-1941) announcing to him the novel’s forthcoming publication in the Nouvelle Revue Française, where it was serialised from July to November 1913.

The only novel by Alain-Fournier, who was killed aged 27 in the first month of World War I, Le Grand Meaulnes is the partly autobiographical tale of adolescence and lost love which has come to be regarded as one of France’s favourite literary works. It has inspired writers including Julian Barnes and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, is a likely influence on Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and is the only book carried by Sal Paradise on his travels in Jack Kerouac's On the Road. In 1999, it placed 9th in Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century.

The publisher Emile-Paul sets the number of copies on green paper at 10 in a letter of October 10, 1925 to the bookseller Raoul Simonson (a copy of which is tipped onto a preliminary leaf), and at just 6 in a letter of February 6, 1934 to the bookseller Auguste Blaizot.

[Sold with:] – La Femme empoisonnée. [The Hague:] A.A.M. Stols & Pierre Seghers, 1944. First edition, no. 18 of 50 copies marked with roman numerals from a total edition of 65. Contemporary blue morocco by P. L. Martin, boards with single gilt fillet border enclosing vellum panels, the upper cover and spine lettered in gilt, original blue printed wrappers bound in. Provenance: Raoul Simonson (label on endpaper) – Charles Hayoit (leather label on endpaper, sale Sotheby's, Paris, 30 November-1 December 2001, lot 929) – Sotheby’s, Paris, 15 May 2012, lot 110.
Artist:Henri-Alban Fournier (Alain-Fournier, 1886 - 1914)
Place of origin:France
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
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