KESSEL (Joseph). The Lion. Novel. Paris: Gallimard, [1958]. — In-8, 183 x 116: 316 pp., (2 ff.), printed cover. Burgundy half-chagrin with Bradel-style corners, smooth spine, dotted head, untrimmed, cover and spine preserved (C. Dreneau). First edition. In this novel, Kessel recounts the deeply moving friendship between Patricia, a ten-year-old girl, and King, a lion she raised in Kenya, in a nature reserve near Kilimanjaro. Although returned to the wild, King comes back every day to see her. But when Oriounga, a young Maasai, must face him during an initiation ritual, the lion kills him. John Bullit, Patricia’s father, is then forced to kill King to protect the people. One of 110 copies printed on pure-fiber vellum from the Papeteries Lafuma-Navarre, this one being one of the 10 non-commercial copies (ex. J). Included is a loose half-title page from a copy of the regular edition, bearing the following inscription: For Emile Henriot // with the // warmest regards // from // J. Kessel A fine copy, bound at the time by Constant Dreneau (1907–1972).