Brussels, Henry Kistemaeckers, 1882.
16mo [158 x 100 mm] of (1) bl. l., 1 portrait, 172 pp. including the half-title and the title printed in red and black, (2) ll. for the table and the imprint. Bound in light brown quarter-morocco, flat spine, original wrapers and spine bound in, untrimmed. Binding signed Affolter.
First edition “printed in small number on laid paper” (Clouzot).
Rahir, La Bibliothèque de l’amateur, 532; Bibliothèque De Backer, 2383; Vicaire, Manuel de l’amateur de livres du XIXe siècle, 758; Carteret, II, 110; Clouzot, 197.
It is illustrated with a portrait of Guy de Maupassant etched by Just.
“Mademoiselle Fifi is a collection of short stories by Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) published in 1882 […]. ‘Mademoiselle Fifi’, which gives its title to the book, is an evocation of the war of 1870. In five stories of this collection, the style of Maupassant finds back its corrosive side, this terrible concision in the tragic and that happy sense of the comic, which are the marks of his genius: ‘Une ruse’, ‘Un réveillon’, ‘A cheval’, ‘Deux amis’,and ‘Le voleur’… ‘Le voleur’ is commonly seen as a comic masterpiece. » (Dictionnaire des Œuvres, IV, 315).
Precious copy enriched with this autograph dedication signed by the author on a slip glued on the first blank leaf: “A Monsieur Gille avec les affectueux compliments de Guy de Maupassant”.
When Mademoiselle Fifi was published, Maupassant was staying in Menton. All the dedications of this book were thus sent from Menton on separated “slips”, and then glued in the copies, in Paris, by the editor. (See correspondence p. 298).
Precious copy of this rare first edition, with wide margins since untrimmed, with the original wrappers and the spine bound in.
See less information
