GOETHE (Johann Wolfgang von) — Faust. Parts One and Two. Mon - Lot 119

GOETHE (Johann Wolfgang von) — Faust. Parts One and Two. Montpellier, Union Latine d'Éditions, 1942. 2 in-4 volumes (approx. 24 × 19 cm), paperback with ivory-colored cloth-covered boards printed in black and pale green. Approx. 200 pp. and 259 pp. Part One, French text by Gérard de Nerval; Part Two, French text by Alexandre Arnoux and Rainer Biemel. A major illustration by Edy-Legrand, consisting of 61 off-text compositions, reproduced in facsimile by Daniel Jacomet in two-tone printing and protected by serpentine borders. This edition is properly cataloged with 200 and 259 pages. Limited edition of 6,000 numbered copies: 2,000 copies on Renage pure-thread paper (nos. 1–2,000) and 4,000 on rag vellum (nos. 2,001–6,000). One of the 4,000 copies on rag vellum, this one being No. 4,996. A sought-after illustrated edition for Edy-Legrand’s powerful illustrations, created in the early 1940s. Recent scholarship on the artist notes that the illustrations for *Faust*, commissioned by the Union Latine, were begun in Morocco in 1940, prior to the publication of the two volumes in 1942. A complete set of both parts, preserved in the publisher’s rare protective cardboard slipcase with flaps, featuring the same typographic design as the covers. Condition: The covers of the volumes are well-preserved with a few small foxing spots. However, there is fairly extensive foxing on the protective slipcases and on several leaves, particularly at the beginning and end of the volumes; a few endpapers are also foxed. Otherwise, the interior is clean and the illustrations are well-preserved. Minor signs of wear on the covers and headbands. Visible foxing.