Baudelaire, Charles

12mo (189 x 122mm.), half-title, later crushed brown morocco by L. Peeters of Antwerp, top edge gilt, others uncut, original yellow printed wrappers in their second state (with the five typographical faults uncorrected and with the price of 3F. on the backstrip) bound in, marbled paper slipcase, small area of loss to lower corner of upper wrapper

Hippolyte Hostein, presentation inscription

Carteret i, p. 118

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

INSCRIBED BY BAUDELAIRE ON THE HALF-TITLE, "à M. Hostein, en lui demandant encore un peu de patience, Ch. Baudelaire". Hippolyte Hostein was a writer and the director of the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris from 1849 to 1858. Baudelaire had proposed a play to Hostein, a melodrama based on his poem Le Vin de l'assassin, where a worker kills his wife so that he can descend into drink without interruption or criticism. The part of the wife was meant for Marie Daubrun, an actress at the Gaîté with whom Baudelaire had fallen in love. Baudelaire never wrote the play, and perhaps he sent this book as an apology for still not producing his text (see F.W.J. Hemmings, Baudelaire the Damned, 2011).

FIRST EDITION, with the incorrect running title "Feurs" on p. 31, and with p.45 misnumbered 44. It is complete with the six pièces condamnées whose removal was ordered only six weeks or so after publication (Les Bijoux, Le Léthé, A celle qui est trop gaie, Femmes damnées, Lesbos and Les Métamorphoses du vampire).

This copy has bound at the end two facsimiles of the lower wrapper, in state A and state B, together with a printed note regarding Vicaire's research into the two states (now superseded by Carteret's bibliography).