Description
KESSEL (Joseph).
Slave Markets.
Paris: Les Éditions de France, 1933. — In-8, 198 x 125: (4 blank folios), 223 pp., (2 ff.), printed cover. Black Jansenist morocco, smooth spine, black morocco endpapers, grey morocco headbands, gilt head, untrimmed, cover and spine preserved (YX, 1990).
First edition.
This work is a literary report arising from an investigation carried out in 1930 for *Le Matin*. In it, Kessel exposes traditional slavery in Arab societies—tolerated by the Qur’an—and traces the slave trade from the abduction of children and women in Ethiopia to their transport to the Red Sea. With a small team, including Henry de Monfreid, Kessel crossed deserts and seas to expose this scourge. Going beyond mere reporting, he explores the predatory nature of humankind, showing that slavery persists in other forms, even in so-called civilised societies.
One of 85 copies on pure Lafuma vellum paper (no. 84), the second major edition following 26 copies on Holland paper.
A fine copy in a triple-sewn binding produced in 1990 and signed with the initials YX.
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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