Joris-Karl Huysmans - Sainte Lydwine de Schiedam - 1901

HUYSMANS (Joris-Karl)

Saint Lydwine of Schiedam.

Paris, at Stock, 1901.

1 volume in-8 (24 x 18 cm), vellum binding (period binding), double gold filet framing the covers, coat of arms on the spine with initials at tail and the ex-libris of Doctor Jacques Le Grand, gilt top, moiré guards and endpapers, covers preserved, xxiii-[1]-347 pages (complete). Spine shows signs of wear. Very good overall condition with a very fresh interior.

Original edition.

Limited edition of 1240 numbered copies. One of 1150 copies on ordinary paper (No. 961).

Saint Lydwine of Schiedam belongs to Huysmans’ Catholic period, after En route, The Cathedral and The Oblate. The work is a hagiography devoted to Lydwine of Schiedam, a Dutch mystic of the 15th century, canonized by Leo XIII in 1890. Huysmans makes bodily suffering, illness, and mystical substitution the central elements of a spiritual meditation. The subject fully aligns with the religious and aesthetic preoccupations at the end of Huysmans’ oeuvre: a fascination with saints, sacrifice, the suffering body, the extreme forms of mystical experience, and the survival of the Christian Middle Ages. The author relies particularly on the ancient lives of Lydwine, especially those by Jean Brugman and Thomas à Kempis, whom he cites in his preface.

PROVENANCE:
Doctor Jacques Le Grand was a prominent French surgeon, who died in 1934. He primarily practiced as a surgeon at the Rouen hospitals and also held the position of former aid to anatomy in Paris. He is known for his numerous scientific contributions, titles, and works focusing especially on surgical anatomy and pathology.

A copy sprinkled with a photo of Huysmans.

Beautiful copy.