Paris, Dumont, 1839.
Octavo of (2) leaves for the half-title and title, 335 pages misnumbered as 329.
Half blond calf, smooth spine decorated with gilt floral motifs and gilt and blind tooling, green title pieces, marbled edges. Binding of the time.
204 x 127 mm.
Original edition “rare and sought after”“. (M. Clouzot)
Clouzot, 257; Carteret, II, 360; Rahir, La Bibliothèque de l’amateur, 646; Vicaire, Manuel de l’amateur de livres du XIXe siècle, 460.
One of the most beautiful known copies bound identically to the copies of The Red and the Black and The Charterhouse of Parma from the libraries of Dirkx and Zoummeroff, now in the collection Jean Bonna.
“The original edition includes, in addition to the story which gives its title to the volume, Vittoria Accoramboni, Duchess of Bracciano and The Cenci; the three novellas had already appeared in La Revue des Deux Mondes from 1837 to 1839. As a reader of ancient manuscripts, Stendhal searched in Italian history for examples of this “energy,” made of passion and instinct, with which he endowed the main characters of his fictional creations. From this perspective, the history of the Italian Renaissance offers, regarding female figures, all the elements for an ideal reconstruction of this era, rich in characters and full of struggles. The Abbess of Castro is a typical example of these tales that the author would later take pleasure in titling ” Italian Chronicles.”
These Italian tales, which one can scarcely imagine translated and adapted from ancient manuscripts, happily recreate this life, full of passions and loves, which the author appreciated in Italy and which can indeed be found in the history of art and Italian society. Therefore, it is understandable that these ” Italian Chronicles ” from which Stendhal’s imagination long dreamed, even before drawing the subject of his novellas, would give birth to The Charterhouse of Parmawhich is like its purest expression”. (Dictionary of Works, I, p. 2).Magnificent copy mentioned by Carteret, pure, with wide margins, adorned with a remarkable period binding attributable to Vogel from the libraries of Fernand Vanderem (1864-1939), playwright, bibliographer, famous literary critic and editor-in-chief of the Bulletin du bibliophile, Lanssade (1993, no. 130), sold 32,800 FF (5000 €) 28 years ago, and Bernard Loliée.
