120 - HUYSMANS (J. - K.). *En Ménage*. Paris: Charpentier, 1881. In-12, greenish-brown morocco, lined with red morocco edged with a gold fillet, old-gold moiré silk endpapers, double endpapers, gold-tooled spine on relays, cover intact, slipcase (Marius Michel).

HUYSMANS (J. - K.). *En Ménage*. Paris: Charpentier, 1881. In-12, greenish-brown morocco, lined with red morocco edged with a gold fillet, old-gold moiré silk endpapers, double endpapers, gold-tooled spine on relays, cover intact, slipcase (Marius Michel). FIRST EDITION. RARE COPY, ONE OF TEN PRINTED ON HOLLAND PAPER, numbered, bearing this autograph dedication on the half-title page. “To my master, to Edmond de Goncourt, his most respectful and devoted J. - K. Huysmans.” “Here is *En ménage*, the young novelist’s latest work. It is but a page from life, the most mundane and the most poignant. One night, upon returning home, a husband catches his wife in the act of adultery (...). I know of no subject more profoundly human, in its simplicity. Our joys and our sufferings lie there (...). What no one wants to see is that while the novelist delves into the beast within man, the artist is a man of the utmost sensitivity and a marvelous craftsman of language.” (Émile Zola). A BEAUTIFUL COPY, exquisitely prepared by Marius Michel. Clouzot, p. 155.