DEMAISON (André) - CAMI (Robert). - Lot 132

DEMAISON (André) - CAMI (Robert). Animals on Earth and in the Sky. [Paris]: Les Amis bibliophiles, 1961. — In-4, 325 x 253: (3 blank folios), 118 pp., (6 folios, the last 3 blank), printed cover. Unbound, pasted-in cover, with the publisher’s slipcase and dust jacket. Partially original edition, with a preface by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, and illustrated with 40 original engravings by Robert Cami, including 12 full-page illustrations. This is a collection of four tales inspired by Africa: “Beasts on Earth and in the Sky”; “Legend of the Savannah”; “The Man, the Hare, and the Crocodile”; and “The Elephant King.” The first of these tales, which gives the book its title, appears here for the first time. Félix Houphouët-Boigny describes it as follows in his preface: “Once they begin to speak, anything is possible for animals.” The marvelous, previously unpublished tale, *Beasts on Earth and in the Sky*, shows them building a house out of various materials—a house where a woman appears as an intruder—and then accepting the invitation of the god of beasts to a feast at tables laden with food and drink. We enter a strange yet familiar world where strength is both feared and mocked, while foolishness is lamented and ridiculed. But, unlike *The Romance of Reynard* or La Fontaine’s *Fables*, one should not look for a sometimes cruel satire or even a rudimentary moral in our storyteller’s work. Demaison tells stories for the sheer pleasure of storytelling, describing the animals as they revel in life amidst the vast gardens offered to them by exuberant nature. » Limited edition of 186 copies on Rives vellum paper; this copy is one of the 170 reserved for members of the Société des Amis bibliophiles, numbered 72 and specially printed for Master Roger Child. It has been supplemented with: - 4 menus from the dinners hosted by the Amis bibliophiles on May 26, 1959, March 26, 1960, March 22, 1961, and December 11, 1961, each illustrated with an original engraving signed by Robert Cami, - 6 original drawings used to illustrate the book, consisting of 2 preparatory drawings and one final drawing for page 60, and the same for page 63. - A set of first-state engravings on Arches paper. The copy is in very good condition despite the spine of the cover being worn.