279 - T'SERSTEVENS, Albert. Béni I, King of Paris.

T'SERSTEVENS, Albert. Béni I, King of Paris. A very fine copy, a limited first edition printed on Holland paper, accompanied by two autograph letters signed by the author, in an attractive signed binding. Paris, Albin Michel, 1926. In-8 (130x190 mm), pine-green half-maroquin with corner pieces, spine with cold-stamped raised bands, author’s name and title in gold lettering, date at the bottom, gilt head on witnesses, covers and spine intact. Binding by Van-Havère. 251 pages. Spine slightly sun-faded; slight scuffing at the joints and in the corners. First edition. Limited edition of 190 copies; this is one of the first 40 numbered copies on Holland paper (No. 7). The third and final installment of the trilogy “L’Homme seul,” this satirical and existential novel showcases the picaresque verve and nonconformist spirit of Albert T’Serstevens (1885–1974), a French writer of Belgian origin and a close friend of Blaise Cendrars. A rare copy enriched with two autograph letters from the author, signed “ATS” and addressed to his “dear old friend” (1 and 2 pages, in-4, Quinéville and s.l., September 8 and 11, 1917; the first letter is slightly creased and has a tear). In the first letter, dated September 8, 1917, the author asks for a little money, fiercely criticizes the novels of a certain “Lerouge,” and defends the memory of Charles Baudelaire. He also announces the organization of a party in Quinéville bringing together a select circle of artists, including the painter Angel Zárraga. Three days later, on September 11, 1917, he warmly congratulates his correspondent on a scathing article about Baudelaire. Having taken refuge in Normandy toward the end of the Great War, staying with a landlady whom he humorously nicknames “Maman S.,” he arranged for his friend’s visit, recommending a nearby inn, as the house where he lived with his partner Marcelle and her daughter proved too small to accommodate them all. A very fine copy, with full margins, in a binding signed by Van-Havère