An interesting copy with numerous markings Alexandre DUMAS, Jr. *The...
An interesting copy with numerous markings
Alexandre DUMAS, Jr. *The Lady of the Camellias*. Preface by Jules Janin. New, previously unpublished preface by the author. Illustrations by A. Lynch. Paris, Maison Quantin, 1887.
In-4, blue half-maroquin with corner pieces, gold fillets on the covers, smooth spine slightly faded with a mosaic floral design, gilt head, covers and spine preserved, upper joint cracked at the top, scattered foxing (Stroobants binding).
[2 ff.], XIV, 247 pp., color frontispiece reproduced on the cover, 10 black-and-white engravings as inserts, monochrome chapter headings, by A. Lynch.
This copy is enriched with:
- 11 illustrations by De Neuville, taken from an 1875 edition.
- 10 engravings by Los Rios
- 2 portraits of Alexandre Dumas
- A portrait of Marie Duplessis in two versions, one of which is in red chalk.
- The Quartiers de la Dame aux Camélias, by Lynch in two versions, one of which is in red chalk.
- 2 portraits of Jules Janin.
- Bookplate by Eugène Jacob.
- Frontispiece in three states.
- Title page: the series of engravings by De Neuville, drawn.
Dumas Fils’s novel had—and still has—such a profound impact that the personality of the courtesan Marie Duplessis (1824–1847), her life, and her death have been conflated with the literary character created by the novelist.
Dumas fils had been her lover in 1844–1845 but had been forced to end their relationship because he could not support her at the standard to which she was accustomed. She died of tuberculosis on February 3, 1847. Dumas fils, who was in Algeria, did not learn of her death until his return to France and was only able to attend the auction of the young woman’s possessions, as she had died deeply in debt.
The novel begins with this auction. There, the narrator purchases a copy of *Manon Lescaut* that had been given to the courtesan by a certain Armand Duval, whom he would later meet and who would recount to him his love affair with the young woman.
*Manon Lescaut* is the central theme of *The Lady of the Camellias*, and references to Abbé Prévost’s novel punctuate Dumas fils’s work, in which he asserts: “*Manon Lescaut* is undoubtedly the most beautiful love story ever written […]. It is true in the past, in the present, and in the future, and her conversion through love is as beautiful as Mary Magdalene’s conversion through faith.”
In May 1847, after rereading the letters Marie had sent him, Dumas wrote the novel in three weeks, in which he redeemed the woman of ill repute and criticized the vices of bourgeois and aristocratic society. The novel was an immediate and resounding success.
A fine copy of this bestseller about the redemption of a courtesan through love.
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Time, Location
Auction House
An interesting copy with numerous markings
Alexandre DUMAS, Jr. *The Lady of the Camellias*. Preface by Jules Janin. New, previously unpublished preface by the author. Illustrations by A. Lynch. Paris, Maison Quantin, 1887.
In-4, blue half-maroquin with corner pieces, gold fillets on the covers, smooth spine slightly faded with a mosaic floral design, gilt head, covers and spine preserved, upper joint cracked at the top, scattered foxing (Stroobants binding).
[2 ff.], XIV, 247 pp., color frontispiece reproduced on the cover, 10 black-and-white engravings as inserts, monochrome chapter headings, by A. Lynch.
This copy is enriched with:
- 11 illustrations by De Neuville, taken from an 1875 edition.
- 10 engravings by Los Rios
- 2 portraits of Alexandre Dumas
- A portrait of Marie Duplessis in two versions, one of which is in red chalk.
- The Quartiers de la Dame aux Camélias, by Lynch in two versions, one of which is in red chalk.
- 2 portraits of Jules Janin.
- Bookplate by Eugène Jacob.
- Frontispiece in three states.
- Title page: the series of engravings by De Neuville, drawn.
Dumas Fils’s novel had—and still has—such a profound impact that the personality of the courtesan Marie Duplessis (1824–1847), her life, and her death have been conflated with the literary character created by the novelist.
Dumas fils had been her lover in 1844–1845 but had been forced to end their relationship because he could not support her at the standard to which she was accustomed. She died of tuberculosis on February 3, 1847. Dumas fils, who was in Algeria, did not learn of her death until his return to France and was only able to attend the auction of the young woman’s possessions, as she had died deeply in debt.
The novel begins with this auction. There, the narrator purchases a copy of *Manon Lescaut* that had been given to the courtesan by a certain Armand Duval, whom he would later meet and who would recount to him his love affair with the young woman.
*Manon Lescaut* is the central theme of *The Lady of the Camellias*, and references to Abbé Prévost’s novel punctuate Dumas fils’s work, in which he asserts: “*Manon Lescaut* is undoubtedly the most beautiful love story ever written […]. It is true in the past, in the present, and in the future, and her conversion through love is as beautiful as Mary Magdalene’s conversion through faith.”
In May 1847, after rereading the letters Marie had sent him, Dumas wrote the novel in three weeks, in which he redeemed the woman of ill repute and criticized the vices of bourgeois and aristocratic society. The novel was an immediate and resounding success.
A fine copy of this bestseller about the redemption of a courtesan through love.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
