Marcel Proust illustrations by Grau-Sala - À la recherche du temps perdu - 1961

À la recherche du temps perdu, by Marcel Proust

Complete in 7 volumes.

A numbered copy printed on "Grand Vélin" paper from the Lana paper mills, richly illustrated with 128 full-page color compositions by the artist Emilio Grau-Sala (1911–1975), a Spanish painter, set designer, and illustrator. A remarkable colorist, the Catalan artist was strongly influenced by the works of Raoul Dufy and Pierre Bonnard.

A novel originally published in seven parts by Gallimard between 1913 and 1927; one-third of the work was published posthumously. Living as a recluse during the last ten years of his life, Marcel Proust (1871–1922) understood that "Noah could never see the world so well as from within the Ark, even though it was closed and night had fallen upon the earth." In this pinnacle of modern literature, the author expresses what is often considered inexpressible, managing to link the most secret movements of the soul to the outward forms they take in daily life. "For a long time, I used to go to bed early. Sometimes, when I had put out my candle, my eyes would close so quickly that I did not have time to say to myself, 'I am falling asleep.'"

Éditions Plaisir du Livre, 1961–1963, quarto (21 x 27 cm). Publisher's burgundy binding; front cover featuring a gilt frieze border; title and author in gilt on the spine; top edge gilt. Housed in a clear acetate wrapper. I. *Swann's Way* (Du côté de chez Swann). II. *Within a Budding Grove* (À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs). III. *The Guermantes Way* (Le Côté de Guermantes). IV. *Sodom and Gomorrah* (Sodome et Gomorrhe) / *The Prisoner* (La Prisonnière). V. *Sodom and Gomorrah* (Part II). VI. *The Fugitive* (La Fugitive / Albertine disparue). VII. *Time Regained* (Le Temps retrouvé). Vol. 1: 355 pp. Vol. 2: 424 pp.; Vol. 3: 483 pp.; Vol. 4: 427 pp.; Vol. 5: 331 pp.; Vol. 6: 229 pp.; Vol. 7: 297 pp. Acetate dust jackets rubbed, some with minor damage; corners bumped. Light foxing on the first and last pages, as well as on the side edges.