Joyce--Finaly, Marguerite. Reliquiae, 1925, inscribed by Joyce

[JOYCE, JAMES]--FINALY, MARGUERITE

Reliquiae, 1925

8vo, number 48 of 150 numbered copies on vélin à la cuve from papeteries Van Gelder Zonen, watermarked "a la Marguerite", steel-engraved frontispiece portrait by André Maillart, further engraved medallion portrait by Maillart after Marcel Dammann, WITH JOYCE'S OWNERSHIP SIGNATURE ON THE TITLE PAGE ("James Joyce | Paris | 27.xi.1926"), contemporary crushed olive green morocco by G. Cretté, doublures, silk endpapers, spine gilt, all edges gilt, original slipcase, spine slightly worn, edge-wear to slipcase 

A RARE SURVIVAL FROM JOYCE'S LIBRARY. This series of reminiscences of artist and writer friends (including Colette, Romain Rolland and others) by Marguerite Finaly (neé Pompée, d.1921) was assembled and published posthumously by her husband, the Italian-French banker Horace Finaly (born in Budapest in 1871). Finaly had arrived in Paris with his parents in 1882 and was naturalized in 1890. He attended the Lyceé Condorcet and became a close friend of Proust's, later contributing with him (alongside Henry Barbusse, Léon Blum and others) to the magazine the Banquet. His main career however was a very powerful banker, rising to the position of the head of the Banque de Paris by 1919, and facilitating the French establishment of Standard Oil as well as other French-American industrial and financial collaborations. He became an officer of the Légion d'honneur in 1920 (see Allen Douglas, From Fascism to Libertarian Communism: George Valois Against the Third Republic). It is thought Finaly was the first owner of a turbo powered yacht, named after his wife Marguerite. At the time of receiving this book from Finaly, Joyce was writing Finnegans Wake, and Finaly is alluded to on page 539 of the 1939 Faber first edition.

"Here be trouts culponed for ye and salmons chined and sturgeons tranched, sanced capons, lobsters barbed. Call halton eatwords! Mumm me moe mummers! What, no Ithalians? How, not one Moll Pemalas? Accordingly! Play actors by us ever have crash to their gate. Mr.Messop and Mr Borry will produce of themselves, as they’re twof genitalmen of Veruno, Sernior Nowno and Senior Brolano (finaly! finaly!), all for love of a fair penitent that, a she be broughton, rhoda’s a rosy she. Their two big skins! How they strave to gat her! Such a boyplay!"

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