Œuvres complètes
One of 14 first copies on China paper, this one of only 4 hors commerce copies (of which 5 marked C, 13 marked D, and 1 unnumbered).
This famous edition, known as the ‘À la gerbe’ edition after the motif watermarked in the paper and appearing on the cover, illustrated with original woodcuts by Galanis, was launched in 1929. This collection, which also included the complete works of Dostoevsky, drew on the prestigious NRF backlist to satisfy collectors of fine editions: “Many booksellers and readers have often wished to find the works that have particularly distinguished the NRF firm in a standard edition of impeccable typography, on indestructible paper, and in a library format suitable for binding. The octavo collection answers this desire, at a time when the recognized scope and quality of our backlist allows us to undertake it, and to continue it at a regular pace. […] By their literary quality and their impeccable appearance, these volumes recommend themselves to anyone wishing, for a modest outlay, to own a true library.”
Notably, for this deluxe edition, and for what was then the publishing house’s most celebrated author, Gaston Gallimard turned to their historic printer, the Presses Sainte-Catherine in Bruges. The collection comprises the entirety of Marcel Proust’s works then published by the N.r.f.:
Du côté de chez Swann — À l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs — Le Côté de Guermantes — Sodome et Gomorrhe — La Prisonnière — Albertine disparue — Le Temps retrouvé — Pastiches et Mélanges — Les Plaisirs et les jours — Chroniques.
The total print run is limited as follows: 14 on China paper (I to X and A to D); 23 on Imperial Japan paper (XI to XXX and E to G); 403 on Hollande Pannekoek, watermarked ‘À la gerbe’ (1 to 400 and H to J); 30 hors commerce copies on Bruges rag paper watermarked ‘À la gerbe’ (XXXI to LX), plus, on the same paper, an unlimited number of copies numbered from 401 onward.
The copies on China paper (14) and Japan paper (23) are enriched with the suite of 18 etched frontispieces, each placed at the head of its volume, by Hermine David. These come from the 120 suites numbered and signed by the artist, reserved for these first 37 copies, the remainder having been sold separately to enrich the copies on Hollande.
A choice copy, in a unique binding after a design by Paul Bonet, which he would later reuse for the edition of Malraux’s L’Espoir in Bonet boards. This commission was made for Raymond Gallimard, with his monogram at the head of each volume.