Paris, Fasquelle, 1931.
8vo, 260 pp., (2) pp., (1) bl. l.
Red quarter morocco, gilt fillets, richly decorated ribbed spine, untrimmed. Mid-twentieth century binding.
205 x 140 mm.
Rare first edition of this famous text by Pagnol, of which only 150 copies were printed.
Only 150 copies of this edition were printed: 50 copies on Japon Impérial, numbered 1 to 50, and 100 copies on Holland paper, numbered 51 to 150.
Our copy belongs to the precious first edition on Japon Impérial and is numbered 49.
“The first part of a trilogy from Marseilles. This work established the young playwright whose first success with ‘Topaze’ had revealed him the previous year. Premiered on May 9, 1929, the play was warmly received […] Alongside ‘Marius’, ‘Fanny’ and ‘César’, Marcel Pagnol evokes a whole people of Marseille santons: Escartefigue, Panisse, Honorine… so many characters who smell of garlic and lavender, seashells and pastis, the nostalgic odors of the old port; a whole jovial, spirited, melancholy world, as close to laughter as to tears, to tragedy as to comedy. ” (Dictionnaire des Œuvres, IV, p. 403).
A precious copy preserved untrimmed with numerous witnesses, bearing this autograph dedication from Pagnol on the title page: “A Christiane Werner, avec toute ma sympathie, Marcel Pagnol, 1947”.
Our research has enabled us to locate copies of this rare original edition in only 2 French public institutions: Nice, B.n.F.
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