463 - MONDOR (Henri)

MONDOR (Henri) Life of Mallarmé. Paris, Gallimard, 1941 2 volumes, in-8 format, burgundy half-maroquin with corner pieces, ribbed spine, blind-stamped fillets between the ribs, gilt head, cover and spine (P.-L. Martin). First edition, printed in a run of 152 copies. One of the 7 special copies on Imperial Japanese paper, this one numbered V. It bears a long, unsigned dedication by the author to his friend Édouard Périer: "At last—after many trials—this copy is in devoted hands and under faithful eyes—those of my friend Dr. E. Périer, a learned bibliophile and distinguished physician, Henri Mondor. This [half-title] may have seemed to some to be a hagiography only because the Poet was at once one of the greatest and the most delightful, Henri Mondor.” Copy from the François Mitterrand collection (Oct. 30, 2018, lot 459). It contains a handwritten letter from Pierre Mauroy to François Mitterrand: “I have just returned from Berlin and am making a brief stop in Paris to wish you a happy birthday. As the years go by, it is always with the same inner pleasure that I honor the tradition of expressing my affection for you,” October 26, 1995, 1 page, in-4. PROVENANCE: Mitterrand auction at Piasa on October 30, 2018, Dr. Edouard Périer (ex libris)