Baudelaire, Charles — Les Fleurs Du Mal

Paris, France, Editions Rombaldi, 1950. Nouvelle Edition. Hardcover. Size: 8vo 8" - 9" tall. A good, rock-solid copy of an important work, published first in the Second Edition of which this is a reprint, in 1861. Exemplar #3260 of 4000 printed, a new edition, and augmented with the lovely illustrations by Andre Collot. Bound in heavy blue cloth over boards, gilt lettering to spine. Moderately rubbed, scuffed a bit along edges, toned at endpapers front and rear, else clean and unmarked of interior. Dedicated to Theophile Gautier, his mentor in a sense. This edition established according to the lessons given by Adolphe Van Bever, reviewed and corrected by Édouard Marye (who writes the Foreword), was completed printing on the presses of J. Dumoulin (H. Barthélemy being director) on January 17, 1950. The original illustrations by André Collot were colored by Edmond Vairel under the direction of the Artist, and they are gorgeous and in quadruchrome, with garishly evocative faces and women's bodies, some nude. Printed on cream-laid paper from the Montévrain paper mills. Text in French throughout. Translated from the original French, it readss, "This work reproduces the text of the second edition published in 1861 by Poulet-Malassis. We have followed it with the six poems condemned in 1857, which the publisher had been forced to discard, and a series of twenty-five pieces which, collected by Charles Asselineau, when establishing the "Complete Works" of the poet, were intended, at least in part, to appear in a third edition that Baudelaire, shortly before his death, planned to publish" (Table Bibliographique, p. 305). Collated as follows: Editor's Note (E. M.) - Dedication - To the reader -- Spleen and ideal - Parisian paintings - Wine - Flowers of evil - Revolt - Death -- Condemned pieces - Supplement to -- Bibliographic Table - Alphabetical table of poems - General Table of Contents. xi, 329 [2] pp.Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. . . . Very Good