MARAN (René) - JOUVE (Paul). - Lot 167

MARAN (René) - JOUVE (Paul). The Book of the Bush. Paris: Les bibliophiles de l’Automobile-Club de France, 1937. — In-4, 321 x 260: (4 leaves, first 2 blank), 200 pp., (8 leaves, last 7 blank), illustrated cover. Dark green morocco leather; covers and spine adorned with a continuous design consisting, on the covers, of curved bands formed by two double gold fillets and straight bands of burgundy morocco leather, arranged in a pointed pattern, all intersecting on the spine, plain spine, burgundy box linings and endpapers decorated with vertical blind-stamped fillets and a scattering of small gilded diamonds, edges gilt on endpapers, cover and spine preserved, slipcase with a dark green morocco spine and flap bands, case (Georges Cretté). A remarkable illustrated edition featuring 39 compositions by the painter and illustrator Paul JOUVE (1878–1973), woodcut by Pierre Bouchet, including one on the cover, 10 full-page illustrations, and 28 within the text. René Maran’s *Le Livre de la Brousse* (1934) is part of his “African Bush Cycle” and is presented as a naturalist novel that describes, without judgment, the Banda region, its inhabitants, and its wildlife. Through the journey of Kossi, a young Banda warrior, the work functions as a coming-of-age novel: the reader discovers the traditions, customs, and landscapes of Oubangui-Chari, where Black people are portrayed in harmony with nature, living according to well-established social norms, far removed from colonial stereotypes. The book’s originality lies in its innovative style: third-person narration (by a heterodiegetic narrator) alternates with animal perspectives (such as that of Doppélé, the scavenger), which, given a voice, reveal aspects of local life. Maran also incorporates elements of African oral tradition—words in the Banda (Bokorro, Bamara), songs, lullabies, sayings, and proverbs—as well as precise descriptions of the geographical setting (the bush, the Tomi River) and cultural practices (education, breastfeeding, diet). Considered a masterpiece, this novel lays the groundwork for a new African literary aesthetic, blending naturalistic realism with oral tradition, while offering a fresh and respectful portrayal of African societies. (Source: *Le Livre de la brousse* (1934) or the Beginnings of a New Aesthetic in the French-Language African Novel by Ndèye Astou GUEYE, Faculty of Educational and Training Sciences and Technologies, Cheikh Anta Diop University.) Limited edition of 122 numbered copies on Arches vellum. Copy No. 29, specially printed for Pierre-Gaston Guérin, featuring a double set of illustrations on Japanese paper (first state and final state), as well as 11 original drawings enhanced with color—including 3 large ones—that were used to illustrate the book. These are the drawings for the illustrations on pages 71, 87, 89, 97, 105, 127, 151, 159, 183, 188, and 195. Copy in a superb triple binding by Georges Cretté. At the time of the sale of Pierre Guérin’s library in 1938, the copy had not yet been bound. The slipcase is damaged. Provenance: Pierre Guérin, by subscription (I, 1938, no. 174).