La Vie devant soi

An inscription such as this, in Gary’s own hand and signed Romain Gary, is exceedingly rare — if not unique — on La Vie devant soi.

This copy was printed on 17 November 1975: the very day the prize was awarded, and one of the — necessarily earliest — copies of the reprint made necessary by the award. A further reprint followed on 25 November. From the point of view of literary history, Gary’s inscription is all the more significant for this.

A few copies of La Vie devant soi signed “Émile Ajar” are known: only one is inscribed; three are simply signed — all by the man who then wore the mask and held the pen, Romain Gary’s great-nephew Paul Pavlowitch.

No other copy of La Vie devant soi is known bearing an inscription in Romain Gary’s own hand. A copy of L’Angoisse du roi Salomon is known, however, bearing a note that amounts to a confession, or a confirmation: “Romain Gary = Emile Ajar.”

Exceptional.