BARBEY D'AUREVILLY (Jules). - Lot 36

BARBEY D'AUREVILLY (Jules). Une histoire sans nom. Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1882. - In-18, red half-chagrin, spine ribbed and decorated, front cover preserved (period binding). First edition. Copy on publisher's paper, enriched on the second cover with this autograph letter in red ink, signed by the author: "to my Very Honored // Director of Le Constitutionnel // Monsieur Gibiat, // one of its writers, // Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly." This was Eugène Gibiat (1815-1885), a businessman, politician and press owner. He was co-manager of Le Constitutionnel from 1863 to 1865, before becoming its director on March 1, 1868. In 1869, Barbey d'Aurevilly succeeded Sainte-Beuve as a contributor to the paper, for which he wrote several articles. A good copy in contemporary binding. Dedication slightly cut by the binder who did not preserve the second cover. Provenance: Eugène Gibiat, with dispatch from the author. - René Berton, with bookplate.