MIRBEAU (Octave). — The Diary of a Chambermaid. - Lot 203

MIRBEAU (Octave). — The Diary of a Chambermaid. Illustrations by Ch.-A. Edelmann. Paris, Éditions Mornay, “Les Beaux Livres” collection, 1932. Square 8vo, 363 pp., paperback, illustrated color-embossed cover, printed spine and endpapers, untrimmed. A beautiful illustrated edition of one of Octave Mirbeau’s major novels, first published in book form in 1900. This Mornay edition is adorned with numerous illustrations by Charles-Auguste Edelmann—some full-page, others within the text—delicately colored. Limited edition of 953 numbered copies. One of the 830 copies printed on Rives paper, this one being No. 435. Copy preserved in its elegant, illustrated publisher’s binding, with the cover designed and colored by Edelmann. The illustrations, light and elegant in style, complement particularly well the scathing chronicle of domestic life and the bourgeoisie that Mirbeau places in Célestine’s words. A few scattered foxing spots, mainly in the margins and on the spine of the cover; slight signs of wear and minor imperfections on the endpapers, but the copy remains sturdy and attractive. The color illustrations have retained their vibrancy. A fine copy on Rives paper, in its original illustrated paperback binding.