One of the numbered copies from the first printing (no. 4,619).
This is the fifth illustrated edition of Raboliot, published by Éditions Rombaldi, founded in 1932 by Toussaint Rombaldi and specializing in the bibliophile reissue of classic or contemporary texts, with the participation of renowned artists (Chimot, Lobel-Riche, Chahine, Marquet, and others). The illustrations are by Pierre Gandon (1899–1990), a student at the École Estienne, trained in engraving by Antoine Dezarrois (also the teacher of Albert Decaris), and later admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. At the age of twenty-two he won the Grand Prix de Rome for engraving, followed in 1926 by the Prix de la Ville de Paris.
A virtuoso draftsman, Gandon is especially known for his postage stamps, which he began designing in 1941 and continued under the Fourth Republic; his portraits of Marianne and of Pasteur remain iconic. He pursued a long career in interpretive engraving and philately, while also illustrating numerous books.
From the library of Maurice Genevoix, at “Les Vernelles” (bookplate).