"THE WORDS" - THE TRUE FIRST PRINTING

SARTRE, JEAN-PAUL.

Les Mots. I. - Lire, II. - Écrire. (All). [In: Les Temps Modernes. Revue Mensuelle. 19e année, no 209 + 210. Octobre + Novembre 1963].

Paris, 1963. 8vo. Issues 209 & 210 of "Les Temps Modernes" in the original printed red and black wrappers. Minor sunning to spines and edges, but otherwise in near mint condition. No 210 slightly bigger than no 209. (No. 209:) pp. 577 + (no. 210): pp. 769-834. [Entire issues: pp. (577) - 768 (+ 8 pp. of advertisements) + pp. (769) - 959 + (1 p, "Note de la Rédaction), (8 pp. of advertisements) + 2 photographic plates in the text.

The rarely seen true first printing of Sartre's monumental biographical work, which counts as one of his major achievements and which was immediately hailed as a literary success. In the work, which describes his youth and analyzes his literary development, Sartre distances himself from writing and bids his adieu to literature.

The major part of the work was written in 1954 and was rewritten and altered in early 1963, which accounts for the many chronological contradictions, the point of reference being sometimes 1953, sometimes 1963.

The second printing of the work is that from Gallimard, 1964, which is usually described as the first edition of the work, but which is in fact merely the first edition in book form. This first printing from 1963 constitutes the work in its entirety, and the 1964-version only differs very slightly from it. On 28th of November 1963 an extract of the work appeared in "L'Express".

In November of 1964 (when the work first appeared in book form), he refused the Nobel Prize for Literature awarded for his work, described as "rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the quest for truth, has exerted a far-reaching influence on our age."

Contat & Rybalka 63/383 a). See also this reference for more on the work and extracts from interviews with Sartre about it (pp. (385)-87).

Order-nr.: 43485