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Description
DAUDET (Alphonse).
Tartarin of Tarascon.
Paris: C. Marpon, E. Flammarion, 1887. — In-18, 185 x 120: (6 blank folios), 233 pp., (3 folios), illustrated cover. Beige half-percale Bradel binding with corner pieces, smooth spine, untrimmed, original cover preserved (contemporary binding).
First illustrated edition, published in the ‘Collection artistique Guillaume et Cie’.
First published in 1872, this novel recounts the farcical adventures of Tartarin, an anti-hero from Tarascon who dreams of travelling to Africa to hunt lions. A colourful character, at once boastful and cowardly, Tartarin embarks on an eventful journey to Algeria, where he encounters wild animals, Bedouins and swindling adventurers. Instead of the heroic epic he had hoped for, he experiences a series of farcical adventures and misunderstandings, even going so far as to feed a lion instead of killing it. On his return to Tarascon, he is welcomed as a hero by his fellow townspeople. The novel is a satire on the provincial bourgeoisie and southern boastfulness, blending humour, exoticism and social criticism.
The edition is illustrated with a colour composition by Rossi on the cover, and numerous black-and-white illustrations within the text and full-page illustrations based on works by Jules Girardet, Montégut, Félicien de Myrbach, Picard and Rossi.
One of 100 numbered copies on Japanese paper (no. 31), the only edition printed on large-format paper.
It comes from the library of the bookseller and publisher Léon Conquet (1848–1897), bearing his bookplate, etched by Champollion after a drawing by Giacomelli.
Spine slightly warped. Small foxing spots on the endpapers.
Provenance:
Léon Conquet, with bookplate.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Claude Mozis Library – Black Africa and the African diaspora
Auction location
Auction time
10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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