Among the highlights: Clément Marot, with a copy of the famous “au rocher” edition from Balzac’s library; Racine, represented by several first editions including Athalie with a signed dedication; and La Rochefoucauld, whose Réflexions ou Sentences et maximes morales belonged to his sister. Also included are first editions of Pascal’s Pensées, Montesquieu’s L’Esprit des lois, and Voltaire’s Candide. The 19th century is represented by a fine copy of Études de mœurs au XIXe siècle, the first draft of the famous Comédie humaine, the original edition of Scènes de la vie orientale by Nerval with a signed dedication to Édouard Rigo, and Le Fleuve by Charles Cros, one of the very first artist’s books and the first to be illustrated by Manet. 20th-century writers are equally well represented, with numerous first editions featuring signed dedications: Les Nourritures terrestres by André Gide, Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier, Le Rivage des Syrtes by Gracq, Vol de Nuit, Terre des Hommes, and Courrier Sud by Saint-Exupéry, as well as works by Paul Valéry, Albert Camus, Jean Cocteau, René Char, and Marguerite Yourcenar, to name but a few. Among the star lots are the very rare Waldseemüller world map, known as the “Admiral’s Map”, one of the first maps to depict the discoveries of Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Amerigo Vespucci; and a magnificent binding by Jean Picard, made between 1540 and 1547 for the famed bibliophile Jean Grolier. Also of note: a copy of Einstein’s Die Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie, inscribed to Spanish mathematician Federico Alicart. As for manuscripts, a highlight is a rare notebook from André Gide’s famed Journal, the only one in private hands, coming from the Pierre Amrouche and Suzanne Amrouche-Molbert collection. From the same collection come 15 drawings of The Little Prince made by Saint-Exupéry in Algiers in late 1943–early 1944. Also featured: numerous letters to and from Monet, Caillebotte, Renoir, and Gide. Particularly noteworthy is an extensive and uncommon correspondence between Julio Cortázar and film director Manuel Antin, sure to delight fans of the Argentine writer. Two standout lots: a precious Rimbaud relic - a fragment of a blanket brought back from Ethiopia - and a self-portrait of Karl Lagerfeld reading Baudelaire.

This collection brings together the great names of French literature.

Highlights

This sale features a monument of French cinema that reinvented filmmaking, officially launched the Nouvelle Vague, and inspired an entire generation of young directors. The partially autograph manuscript—previously unknown—of À bout de souffle, likely the most complete version possible given the author's working methods, includes dialogue and shooting directions, and is sure to spark the interest of film lovers and autograph collectors alike! This 72-page manuscript, written during the summer of 1959, comes from the family of producer Georges de Beauregard. The film, shot in a radically innovative way in less than a month, was released on March 16, 1960, met with tremendous success, and was awarded the Jean Vigo Prize the same year for its independence of spirit and originality. Two years after À bout de souffle, in 1961, Argentine writer Julio Cortázar met fellow countryman and filmmaker Manuel Antin. The two maintained a rich correspondence, as evidenced by the 50 letters Cortázar sent to Antin between 1961 and 1970. These letters discuss numerous film adaptations of his works, as well as a wide range of films—from Buñuel’s L’Âge d’or to Godard’s Le Mépris, from the Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup to Antonioni’s Blow-Up.

Godard and Cortázar, Two Leading Figures of 1960s Cinema

Several lots in the sale come from this distinguished collection, including 15 mostly unpublished drawings of The Little Prince, created by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry during a lunch at Jean and Suzanne Amrouche’s home in Algiers, late 1943–early 1944. The iconic little boy is depicted in various poses: scarf blowing in the wind, climbing or descending a mountain, lying on his planet, pulling a snail on a leash, or standing on his star-lit planet - just as he appears on the book cover. Included are several manuscripts and books by André Gide. Between 1928 and 1950, Gide and Jean Amrouche, poet, journalist, and radio host, maintained a rich, literary and personal correspondence, illustrated here by 80 letters from Gide. In May 1942, Jean and Suzanne Amrouche hosted Gide in Tunis, and joined him in Algiers in 1943. It was during this time that the future Nobel Prize winner gave the Amrouches one of his cherished notebooks, which he filled almost daily. Covering January and February 1943, it remains the only privately held notebook from his Journal. The collection also includes numerous books inscribed by Gide to Jean and Suzanne Amrouche, as well as many letters to Jean Amrouche from Paulhan, Camus, Jouhandeau, Mauriac, Claudel, Martin du Gard, René Char, and others, testimonies of their collaborations on La Tunisie française littéraire and L’Arche, the literary journal founded by Gide, Jacques Lassaigne, and Jean Amrouche in 1943.

Pierre Amrouche and Suzanne Amrouche-Molbert Collection 

The sale includes numerous letters from Claude Monet or addressed to him. Among them are several letters sent from Rouen to his wife Alice Hoschedé, where he discusses his famous Cathedrals. In 1895, writing from Norway, he confides in Alice about painting snowy landscapes. In another letter to art historian Gustave Geffroy, he mentions Cézanne’s visit to Giverny. Two lists of paintings are sent to his dealer Paul Durand-Ruel. Around 1877, Édouard Manet writes to confirm he is happy to store some of Monet’s paintings. Between 1889 and 1894, Monet receives 11 letters from Caillebotte discussing topics as varied as shrimp fishing, reading Flaubert, and installing an irrigation system. Also included are four letters from Pissarro to Monet touching on the fifth Impressionist exhibition, Pissarro’s house in Éragny-sur-Epte, Monet’s marriage to Alice Hoschedé, and dealings with Durand-Ruel. One letter from Renoir, written shortly after their trip to Italy in late 1883, and two letters from Signac to Monet are also included—one about watercolors he proposes to send, the other expressing his shock and dismay after visiting the Salon d’Automne. Finally, a beautiful letter from Berthe Morisot to Claude Monet mentions the reopening of the Musée du Luxembourg, where Manet’s Olympia was on display.

Letters and Painters

In the early 16th century, during a time of great geographical discovery, German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller created one of the first maps to include the discoveries of Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Amerigo Vespucci. Nearly two centuries later, the vision of the world according to Jacobus Robijn and Cornelis Danckerts had evolved significantly. Their spectacular map, centered on the North Pole, still shows California as an island. Also featured: the Memoirs of famed corsair Duguay-Trouin, bound for the Marquise de Pompadour, and the first French edition of Cook’s celebrated voyages, an extensively illustrated account of the most important circumnavigation of the 18th century.

Exploring the World

French 20th-century literature takes center stage with numerous first editions, often signed. A rare Japanese-paper copy of Gide’s legendary Les Nourritures terrestres, inscribed to Mme Henry Lerolle; Léon Larguier’s copy of Le Grand Meaulnes; Courrier Sud, Vol de Nuit, and Terre des Hommes by Saint-Exupéry, each with a signed dedication. Also featured: Le Rivage des Syrtes by Gracq (one of 40 deluxe copies on Rives paper); Louis Rouard’s copy of Valéry’s La Jeune Parque; Mémoires d’Hadrien and Archives du Nord by Yourcenar; L’Exil et le royaume by Camus, inscribed to René Etiemble; Discours de Suède inscribed to Char, and from Char a dedication to Breton and others.

20th Century Literature

Bindings often showcase elaborate decoration reflecting the era’s aesthetic, the content of the book, or the owner’s mark (arms or cipher). They also highlight the creativity of master binders. In the 16th century, Jean Grolier, the eminent bibliophile, had his copy of the first edition of Baetus Rhenanus’s De Rerum Germanicarum libri tres bound by the highly talented Jean Picard. Set in an elegant interlaced design, Grolier’s golden ex-libris — “IO GROLIERII ET AMICORUM” — and his motto — “PORTIO MEA DOMINE SIT IN TERRA VIVENTIUM”— stand out. From the following century comes a rare binding bearing the arms of the young dauphin, future Louis XIV, adorned with alternating fleurs-de-lis and dolphins. More discreet but no less refined is the binding on a 1545 Lyon edition of Marot’s Œuvres, attributed to Luc-Antoine Boyet, the famed 17th-century binder and royal binder from 1698 to 1733. Madame de Pompadour had her books bound with her own arms, as seen in a fine red morocco copy of the Mémoires of corsair Du Guay-Trouin. Paul Bonet, one of the 20th century’s greatest binders, created a mosaic binding for Valéry’s La Jeune Parque, inspired by the book’s title.

A Few Bindings

Paris

Vice President France | Senior Director

Anne Heilbronn

Director | Specialist

Patricia de Fougerolle

Benoit Puttemans

Sale Coordinator | Books

Fanny Gras

Meet our Specialists

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Livres & Manuscrits