François-René de CHATEAUBRIAND.
Mémoires d'outre-tombe. Paris, Eugène et Victor
Penaud, 1849-1850.
12 volumes in-8: green half-sheepskin, spines nicely decorated, spotted edges (period binding).
First edition.
A first issue copy: it contains the Avertissement and the list of subscribers, deleted when the balance of the edition was given to the bookseller Dion-Lambert.
Written over more than thirty years, the Mémoires contain some of the most beautiful pages of French literature (En français dans le texte, n° 268). At first, the reception was reserved because of the high subscription price. This mitigated success explains the rarity of copies in quality contemporary bindings.
A very fine collection, in a nicely decorated contemporary binding, free of the usual foxing.
Provenance: Gustave Morel, with wet stamp.