RONDEAU (Gérard). - Lot 257

RONDEAU (Gérard). Les Fantômes du Chemin des Dames. The Rectory of Yves Gibeau. Paris, Seuil, 2003. Large quarto, illustrated publisher’s hardcover. Copy enhanced with a signed autograph dedication by Gérard Rondeau. First edition of this deeply personal book in which Gérard Rondeau spends more than fifteen years tracing the footsteps of the writer Yves Gibeau (1916–1994), author of *Allons z’enfants* and a major figure in the history of the Chemin des Dames. Through a series of black-and-white photographs, Rondeau explores the presbytery in Roucy, the devastated landscapes of the Aisne, and the objects, archives, and mementos collected by Gibeau, weaving together a meditation on memory, time, and the wounds of the Great War. The images, marked by great simplicity, are accompanied by texts and reproductions of handwritten documents, making the collection a true photobiography that blends history, literature, and photography. A beautiful copy bearing an autographed dedication on the half-title page: “For Jean-Paul Murer, a phoenix for a day around the Grand Hameau, with my loyalty. Amiens, Nov. 15, 1903 Gérard Rondeau” Gérard Rondeau’s books featuring a dedicatory inscription are significantly less common than ordinary copies, particularly for his works dedicated to the memory of World War I. Condition: very good copy, hardcover in excellent condition. Interior fresh. Autograph dedication signed on the half-title page.