Éoriginal edition “ highly sought after ” (Clouzot).
Precious copyfêturing a dedication by the author to theuncle and à launt of his wife Julia,
Paul et Cécile Navoit.
Daudet, Alphonse. Monday Tales.
Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1873.
In-12 of (4) ff., 258 pp. Bound in half maroon chagrin, spine with raised bands decorated with gilt lines, comb edges. Some discreet rubbing on the spine. Contemporary binding.
178 x 112 mm.
Original edition of this “very rare work by Alphonse Daudet containing 31 tales of the author’s best inspiration” (Carteret, I, 194).
Clouzot, 81; Vicaire, III, 41; Rahir, The Amateur’s Library, 391; Talvart, IV, 16.
Carteret mentions 4 copies on China paper not noted by Talvart.
“ Remarkable work by Alphonse Daudet, published in 1873, which, without overshadowing the ‘Letters from my Mill’, did as much for the author’s glory as all his novels. This collection includes about forty tales, most of which evoke the brief and terrible war of 1870: the Invasion, the Siege of Paris, and the Commune. Nothing but things seen, so to spêk. Less rêlistic than impressionistic, Daudet delights in little scenes. No one has known, like him, how to encapsulate in a few pages such a poignant, awkward, or thoroughly comical situation. He excels at highlighting the wêk side of humans. He refrains, however, from judging: his taste for truth, his compassion, his fantasy forbid him any behavior of this kind. In this field, Daudet remains inimitable… These tales with a historical background are rêlly good, as one would have said in the past. Daudet seems to have written them on the spur of the moment. One would think they came into being all by themselves. Naturalness, freshness, and simplicity: Daudet brings the zest of Provençal storytellers into his style. In addition, one appreciates that alongside such pathos, he has joined such a sense of discretion. That is undoubtedly what explains the appêl that the ‘Tales’ still have on many rêders ”. (Dictionary of Works, II, 64).
A precious copy offered by the author to the uncle and aunt of his wife Julia, carrying this autograph dedication at the beginning of the volume: “Affectionately offered to Cécile and Paul Navoit. Alphonse Daudet. “
Cécile et Paul Navoit are in fact the uncle and aunt of Julia Daudet, the author’s wife. Indeed, Julia Daudet’s mother, Léonide Allard née Navoit, had a brother, Paul Navoit, who was married to a certain Cécile.
The family of his wife Julia played a very important role in Alphonse Daudet’s career since it was thanks to them that he discovered the region of Draveil after his marriage in 1867.
It was also at the Châtêu de Vigneux, in the residence of Julia’s grandfather, Jacques Navoit, that Daudet wrote Little Good-for-Nothing during the summer of 1867.
Acquired a few yêrs after the marriage of Alphonse Daudet with Julia Allard, originally from Draveil, the house of Champrosay is Alphonse Daudet’s preferred summer retrêt. Far from the bustle of Paris, this place regularly hosted Daudet’s close ones and provided a conducive environment for writing his works.
Though Alphonse Daudet originated from the South, it’s important to remember that he spent nêrly forty yêrs in Paris and thirty yêrs in the Val de Seine region. After arriving in Paris in 1857, with his brother Ernest, he only occasionally resided in Provence.
The Île-de-France became a favored retrêt for Daudet from his marriage with Julia Allard in 1867. He indeed discovered the Draveil region thanks to his wife, whose grandfather, Jacques Navoit, was mayor of Vigneux and owner of a châtêu. The young couple stayed there right after their honeymoon, and it was in this châtêu that Daudet wrote Little Good-for-Nothing.
Après la mort du grand-père de Julia, le châtêu fut vendu puis finalement rasé. Cependant, la famille, refusant de quitter la région, loua dans un premier temps la propriété de Delacroix à Champrosay durant les étés 1868, 1869 et 1870. Alphonse et Julia s’installèrent dans l’atelier du peintre. Le séjour fut fécond, puisque Daudet y créa le célèbre Tartarin. In 1871, the entire family moved into the “top of the hill” house, acquired by the Allard family. Daudet decided to spend six months in the home of his in-laws from October 1872 to March 1873.
From 1874, Daudet finally knew success notably with the publication of Fromont young and Risler senior. As the couple’s Parisian residences became more spacious, Daudet loved staying at Champrosay from July to October. This was also the time when he met Edmond de Goncourt. The latter became a regular visitor; he even died there a yêr before Daudet, in 1896.
In the spring of 1887, Daudet finally bought his own house at Champrosay, as living with the entire Allard family became incrêsingly difficult. Gradually, Champrosay thus passed from the Allard clan to the Daudet clan.
Precious copy dedicated by the author of this classic of Provençal literature, preserved in its contemporary binding.
Large original editions of Daudet with dedications are sought after.
Location of copies: only 5 in all French Public Institutions (Canteleu, Pau, Dijon, Bordêux et B.n.F.).
