Description
DURAS (Claire de).
Ourika.
[Colophon]: Paris: Royal Printing House, [1823]. — 12mo, 165 x 96: 108 pp. Dark blue morocco, with a pattern of gilt fillets and blind-stamped scrolls framing the covers, blind-stamped fleurons at the corners, decorated ribbed spine, gilt scroll on the inside, gilt edges (Simier R. du roi).
Rahir, *Bibliothèque de l’amateur*, p. 411. – Carteret, I, 250. – Escoffier, *Le Mouvement romantique 1788–1850*, no. 496 (erroneous collation).
A first edition of the utmost rarity, published anonymously and printed in a few dozen copies on vellum paper, not put on the market.
*Ourika* is a minor masterpiece that tells the story of a young African slave girl, brought from Senegal at the age of two and raised in France. Forgetting her race and her status, she falls in love with a man who, due to the prejudices of the time, will never be able to marry her. This novel is one of the first works of French literature to explore relationships, particularly romantic ones, between people of different races.
According to sources, between 12 and 50 copies of this edition were printed, but the author stated in a letter dated January 1824 to Rosalie de Constant that this ‘trial print run’ did not exceed 30 copies, which were reserved for her friends. It is the first novel to have been printed by the Royal Printing Office.
A fine first-printing copy, notably featuring the quotation from Byron on the title page – the only one cited by Carteret – bound at the time by René Simier in his capacity as the King’s bookbinder.
The hinges and corners have been skilfully restored, though there is a small tear at the hinge of the front cover.
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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