Description
First very rare edition of “Colomba,
one of the most famous texts by Prosper Mérimée” (Carteret).
A precious copy, untrimmed, with very wide margins,
and preserved covers and spine.
Mérimée. Colomba.
Paris, Magen et Comon, 1841.
8vo [225 x 140 mm] of (2) ll., 463 pp.
Green half-morocco with corners, ribbed spine very richly and elegantly decorated with fleurons in gilt, preserved covers and spine, untrimmed. Mercier Sr de Cuzin.
Precious first edition, very rare, “of one of the most famous texts by Prosper Mérimée” (Carteret).
Clouzot, 201 ; Carteret, II, pp.144-146 ; Vicaire, V, 719 ; Bulletin Morgand et Fatout, 10511 et 10512.
A “very sought-after” (Clouzot) first edition.
“Three counterfeits had been published before by Hauman, Meline et Jamar, in 1840, in 16mo format.” (Clouzot)
This masterpiece by Mérimée is followed by two other short stories: La Vénus d’Ille and Les âmes du Purgatoire.
“The perfect structure of this short story almost makes it a tragedy; the atmosphere is well-built, with the old customs, the roughness of the people and the bandits, and Colomba, the vengeful virgin, who stands tall, proud and pure. The style is sharp, pared-down, of high literary quality.” (Laffont-Bompiani)
“Mérimée is from the same intellectual family as Stendhal. He is a dilettante ; he likes rare books and carefully chosen friends; he hates all things vulgar. His name is linked to short stories. It was his true specialty. This concise form allowed him to put forth his observation talents, always accurate, sharp and even crude, and to hone his gift for colors and his art of violent and brutal visions. In the multiple shapes of life, which he seizes with vigor but writes about with a powerful sobriety, he seeks primitive sentiments, whether they be excessive or perverse ; he likes to find them in people living in the wild countryside and in the bourgeois who frequent les Parisian salons. Violent human nature, that’s what he likes.”
An attractive copy, very fresh, untrimmed, with very wide margins and preserved covers and spine.
It was covered by Mercier in an attractive binding in half-morocco with a particularly richly decorated spine.
