Huysmans, Joris-Karl

De Tout. Paris: Stock, 1902



8vo (7 1/4 x 4 3/4 in.; 180 x 120 mm).  Original wrappers; long split along front joint, a few splits on backstrip, wrappers soiled, some pencil notes by Auchincloss on the front free endpaper. Blue cloth chemise, blue cloth slipcase, blue morocco spine lettered gilt.

First edition, presentation copy. Inscribed on the half-title: "Emile Zola | Son Ami | JK Huysmans."  Huÿsmans had been introduced to Zola, patriarch and theorist of the naturalist movement  in the late 1870s by one of its disciples, Henri Céard. Along with the others in the group, Huÿsmans was recruited to document scenes from real life for the master's novels. Eventually, Huÿsmans grew disenchanted with Zola's credo; for Huÿsmans,  naturalism was too materialistic to be true. Huÿsmans contended that there was a spiritual aspect to life, and he set about to write a psychological novel about an individual in crisis in order to study this spirit at work. The result of Huÿsmans' efforts was his masterwork and exemplar of French decadent fiction, A Rebours (see preceeding lot).