Books
Old and collectable books from the 1500s to today: first editions, illustrated and signed copies, early printed works in Latin and limited numbered editions.
AA.VV. - Lotto cinque Album Pléiade: Proust, Sartre, Giono, Chateaubriand, Eluard, - 1965-1991
![Jean Cocteau - Taureaux [Vélin de Rives, 32 lithographies] - 1963](https://img.fancybonnet.com/9ebf8b76-87fd-4e8b-8908-3ab2d709534d/card.webp)
Jean Cocteau - Taureaux [Vélin de Rives, 32 lithographies] - 1963
![Juliette DARLE / Patrice POUPERON - Sterne des solitudes [21 sérigraphies originales] - 1980](https://img.fancybonnet.com/e7bff931-60d7-414e-a12f-6ac115ac98e0/card.webp)
Juliette DARLE / Patrice POUPERON - Sterne des solitudes [21 sérigraphies originales] - 1980
Gautier Théophile / George Barbier - Le Roman de la momie - 1929
![Eugène LE ROY / Louis-Joseph SOULAS - Le Moulin du Frau [Mornay] - 1927](https://img.fancybonnet.com/5595d68c-c0d9-4829-a0e1-09283732e63d/card.webp)
Eugène LE ROY / Louis-Joseph SOULAS - Le Moulin du Frau [Mornay] - 1927
Jules Verne - Voyages et Aventures du Capitaine Hatteras - 1868
Signé; Georges Duhamel - (signé) Suite hollandaise + Civilisation française - 1925
![Paul GÉRALDY / André E. MARTY - Toi et Moi [Piazza] - 1946](https://img.fancybonnet.com/44705a73-e5b9-4c45-a9e4-3b6c3fd9a338/card.webp)
Paul GÉRALDY / André E. MARTY - Toi et Moi [Piazza] - 1946
H.G. Wells - 1st Printing - Star Begotten - 1937
Textes établis par Giorgio Perrini - Jean de Bonnot - Histoire du Roi Arthur - 1997 - Tirage de tête - 1997
Gabriel Chevallier / Lucien Boucher - Clochemerle - 1936
La Pleiade - Chateaubriand / Oeuvres romanesques et voyages t.2 + Essai sur les révolutions - Génie du - 1969-1978
Guy de Maupassant. - Guy de Maupassant - Œuvre Complète (12 volumes) - 1980 - Jean de Bonnot - 1980
Jules Verne - L’Ecole des Robinsons - 1882
Honoré de BALZAC / Albert ROBIDA - Les Contes Drolatiques - 1
Armand LANOUX / André PLANSON - Carnet de la Marne - 1
Marc Chagall - Poèmes - 1975
John Fowles - 1st Printing - The French Lieutenant's Woman - 1969
![Raoul Dufy; Jean Witold - Concert des Anges [Deluxe edition] - 1963](https://img.fancybonnet.com/d0c57858-2535-4fb3-805b-2013c8858e8c/card.webp)
Raoul Dufy; Jean Witold - Concert des Anges [Deluxe edition] - 1963
AA.VV. - Lotto cinque Album Pléiade: Sand, Rousseau, Lewis Carrol, Apollinaire, Hugo. - 1964-1990
![Jean-Henri Fabre / Tavy Notton [illustrateur] - Vie et moeurs des insectes - 1953](https://img.fancybonnet.com/ca169191-4374-412c-8410-f73b19c8fcef/card.webp)
Jean-Henri Fabre / Tavy Notton [illustrateur] - Vie et moeurs des insectes - 1953
Georges Simenon - Un homme comme un autre - 1975-1975
![Antoine de Saint-Exupéry [dessin originale signé par la Comtesse Consuelo de Saint-Exupery] - Le Petit Prince [exemplaire unique signé par l'épouse de l'auteur] - 1972](https://img.fancybonnet.com/a0485f33-4375-4b58-9803-d94a90c58460/card.webp)
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry [dessin originale signé par la Comtesse Consuelo de Saint-Exupery] - Le Petit Prince [exemplaire unique signé par l'épouse de l'auteur] - 1972
![Victor HUGO / Jean GRADASSI - Notre-Dame de Paris [miniaturiste] - 2](https://img.fancybonnet.com/a9eb22ce-b040-41ff-ac97-31903167c56f/card.webp)
Victor HUGO / Jean GRADASSI - Notre-Dame de Paris [miniaturiste] - 2
J.K. Rowling / and inscribed by actor Warwick Davis - Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince - 2005
Franz Toussaint; David Kwo - La Flûte de Jade - 1981-1981
![Henri MONDOR / Valdo BARBEY - Lettres à Julien. Flandre et Sicile [20 lithographies couleurs] - 1950](https://img.fancybonnet.com/8dd29a8d-276d-4ad0-a7fd-fc31f2eceae0/card.webp)
Henri MONDOR / Valdo BARBEY - Lettres à Julien. Flandre et Sicile [20 lithographies couleurs] - 1950
Goethe / Schubert / Bellery-Desfontaines - Le Roi des Aulnes / Erlkönig - 1904
Charles Baudelaire - Carnet inédit - 1920
Ted Hughes - 1st Printing - Tales Of The Early World - 1988
Jean de LA FONTAINE et J. J, Granville - FABLES DE LAFONTAINE - 1875-1875
Alfred de MUSSET / CERUTTI - Les Deux Maitresses - 1
Jules Verne/Lemarié Henri - Le Tour du Monde en Quatre-Vingt Jours. Tirage de tête s/Arches - 1989
AA.VV. - Lotto cinque Album Pléiade: Zola, Saint-Simon, Pascal, Céline, Giono - 1963-1980
London Hospitals - The Family Physician - 1884
Georges Simenon - Un banc au soleil - 1977-1977
![Jules Verne; Illustrations de l'époque de l'auteur - Les Voyages Extraordinaires [Jean de Bonnot] - 1976-1978](https://img.fancybonnet.com/a4f3eedd-6b9c-4177-b140-2977bfafcb46/card.webp)
Jules Verne; Illustrations de l'époque de l'auteur - Les Voyages Extraordinaires [Jean de Bonnot] - 1976-1978
Commandant Danrit / Georges Dutriac - Au-dessus du continent noir - 1911
![Cyrano de Bergerac; Bernard Buffet - Les Voyages Fantastiques [HC-6 out of 10] - 1958](https://img.fancybonnet.com/cc70a31a-0edb-44ba-b9ca-e0bea1d2afc0/card.webp)
Cyrano de Bergerac; Bernard Buffet - Les Voyages Fantastiques [HC-6 out of 10] - 1958
![Émile ZOLA / Gus BOFA, P.-E. CLAIRIN, André DIGNIMONT, GRAU SALA - Chefs-d’œuvre [Cartonnage NRF - Paul BONET] - 1957](https://img.fancybonnet.com/e971d128-5460-4d4f-89c4-25aabbfaa1b6/card.webp)
Émile ZOLA / Gus BOFA, P.-E. CLAIRIN, André DIGNIMONT, GRAU SALA - Chefs-d’œuvre [Cartonnage NRF - Paul BONET] - 1957
![Guy de POURTALÈS / Joëlle SERVE - Marins d'eau douce [10 eaux-fortes couleurs - envoi] - 1986](https://img.fancybonnet.com/310aad48-0a6e-4294-8e53-eab76cf7f301/card.webp)
Guy de POURTALÈS / Joëlle SERVE - Marins d'eau douce [10 eaux-fortes couleurs - envoi] - 1986
Signé; Jean Cocteau / Pablo Picasso - Picasso de 1916 à 1961 - 1962
![Catherine POZZI / Catherine BOLLE - Poèmes [6 dessins] - 2005](https://img.fancybonnet.com/91007597-2c36-45dd-b958-de44562162fc/card.webp)
Catherine POZZI / Catherine BOLLE - Poèmes [6 dessins] - 2005
Brothers Grimm - Stories From Grimm - 1925
Willy Pogany - The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner - 1926
Shirley Goulden - Tales From Hans Andersen - 1957
Lucie DELARUE-MARDRUS / Auguste BROUET - L'Ex-voto - 1927
Victor Hugo - Collection complète de 38 livres des Œuvres de Victor Hugo, publiée par le Le Cercle du Bibliophile - 1960
What is in Books
The range runs from sixteenth- and seventeenth-century printed books, often in Latin, through eighteenth-century encyclopedias and French Revolutionary texts, to modern first printings. French is the most common language here, followed by Latin, Italian, English and German. Literature is the largest subject, with history, religion, medicine and science also well represented, alongside illustrated editions with etchings or wood engravings by artists such as Gustave Doré, Picasso and Chagall.
Edition terms
- 1st edition: the first appearance of the text in print. First printing is the first run of that edition.
- 1st edition thus: the first appearance in this form, such as a new translation or a newly illustrated version.
- Numbered or limited edition: a fixed number of copies, often with a justification page stating the copy number and paper, such as vélin or Japon.
- Tirage de tête: the best copies of a French limited edition, printed on finer paper, sometimes with an extra suite of prints.
Condition and what to check
Condition is given as as new, fine, very good, good or fair. For old books, check the photos and description for the binding (original or later), loose boards, foxing (brown spots), worming, missing plates or leaves, and library stamps. On early books, completeness matters more than surface wear: make sure all pages and plates are present. Height and width are listed in centimetres.
Prices
Most books here are between EUR 400 and EUR 1,200.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'first edition thus' mean?
First edition thus means the first time a text appeared in that particular form, not the first time it was ever published. Examples are the first illustrated edition, the first edition of a new translation, or the first edition with a new introduction. It is collectable in its own right but is not the true first edition of the work.
What is foxing in old books?
Foxing is the scattering of brown or rust-coloured spots on the paper of old books and prints. It is caused by damp and by impurities in the paper, and is common in nineteenth-century books. Light foxing is normal for the age; heavy foxing lowers value, especially when it affects illustrations and plates.
Why does a numbered edition state the paper it is printed on?
French and Italian limited editions are often printed on several papers, and the justification page lists how many copies were made on each. Copies on finer papers, such as Japon or Chine, are fewer and more valuable than those on ordinary vélin, so the paper tells you where a copy sits within the edition.