CHATEAUBRIANT (Alphonse de) - Lot 48

CHATEAUBRIANT (Alphonse de) MONSIEUR DES LOURDINES. Illustrations by Maurice Achener. Paris, A. & G. Mornay, “Les Beaux Livres” collection, 1925. Small 8vo, [4] leaves, 256 pp., [2] leaves, paperback, illustrated and printed in bistre and black, printed spine, untrimmed. A beautiful illustrated edition of Alphonse de Châteaubriant’s famous novel, first published in 1911 and awarded the Prix Goncourt that same year. The illustrations by Maurice Achener (1881–1963) are particularly abundant: 119 compositions, including 3 original etchings—the frontispiece, a separate plate, and the title vignette—as well as 116 wood engravings, including 7 full-page compositions, 16 chapter headings, 77 initials printed in red and black, and 16 end-of-page illustrations. LIMITED EDITION OF 1,000 COPIES FOR SALE, including 2 copies on old Japanese paper in the traditional format, 73 on Imperial Japanese paper, 32 on Van Gelder Holland paper, and 893 copies on Rives paper, in addition to 95 non-commercial copies. ONE OF THE 893 COPIES ON RIVES PAPER, THIS ONE NO. 340. The work, the twenty-eighth volume of the “Les Beaux Livres” collection, was completed on June 15, 1925, on the presses of R. Coulouma in Argenteuil. A BEAUTIFUL COPY, STILL IN STAPLE-BINDING, IN ITS ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATED COVER. Some foxing and soiling on the cover, more noticeable on the back cover; spine slightly faded; minor wear on the head and foot and at the corners. A few scattered spots of foxing inside, but overall well-preserved; untrimmed copy with wide margins.