Gérard de Nerval - Les Illuminés. Restif de La Bretonne. [1/25 sur vergé. Collection Pages Retrouvées.] - 1926

A very beautiful copy of the study of Restif de la Bretonne provided by Nerval, published in the collection Pages retrouvées in 1926. One of the 25 copies printed on Arches laid paper (the only large paper mentioned), bears the number 12.

Entirely untrimmed, with full margins. Preserved in an elegant half-chagrin binding with cherry corners, spine decorated with gold-embossed title, gilt head. Covers and spine preserved.
In very good condition. Solid and clean binding. Tiny scuffs on the headbands. Impeccable interior.

Under the title The Confidences of Nicolas, Gérard de Nerval dedicated a long and remarkable study in 1850 to Rétif de La Bretonne (1734-1806), the author of The Perverted Peasant, Monsieur Nicolas, and Nights in Paris. Using autobiographical texts left by his subject with complete freedom, Nerval set out to reconstruct his life in a portrait that can, in many respects, be seen as a Counter-Nicolas or an Anti-Rétif. Here, the emphasis is less on the details of historical truth than on the reflection Nerval invites us to consider about life and art: 'The example of Rétif’s private life and literary career demonstrates that genius does not exist any more without taste than character without morality.'

Gérard de Nerval
The Illuminated. Restif de La Bretonne. [1/25 on vergé]
Preface by Henry Frichet. Editions Delpeuch (Collection: Pages Rediscovered), 1926.
In-8 (180 x 140 mm), 256 pages