PRESENTATION-COPY WITH A MOST SPLENDID PROVENANCE

CAMUS, ALBERT.

L'Été. Les essais LXVIII.

Paris, Gallimard, 1954.

Uncut in the original printed wrappers. Excellent copy.

First edition, Service de presse-copy, i.e. review-copy ("S.P" to bottom of title-page and to verso of back wrapper), with an excellent presentation-inscription, of Camus' magnificent and highly influential collection of essays entitled "Summer".

The copy is inscribed to Camus' close friend and ally in numerous respects, Jean Paulhan: "a Jean Paulhan/ en affectueuse pensée/ Albert Camus" on half-title.

The famous French writer, literary critic and publisher Jean Paulhan (1884-1964) shared many things with Camus, with whom he grew very close. Not only did he participate actively in the publication of Camus' first books by Gallimard, was one of the first to see the true value of Camus' "The Stranger", he was also a confidante of Camus, who considered Paulhan one of the main reasons that he became a proper author.

In a letter to Paulhan dated September 17, 1952, at the moment of break with Sartre, Camus writes: "Ever since I (thanks to you) became what is called an author, I have not ceased to be astonished by my brethren. Sometimes, it is true, in the sense of admiration. Today it is in another sense." (Depuis que je suis devenu (en peu grâce à vous) ce qu'on apelle écrivain, je n'ai pas cessé d'être étonné par mes confrères. Parfois dans le sens de l'admiration, il est vrai. Aujourd'hui c'est dans un autre sens.).

Paulhan was an early and active member of the French Resistance, director of the literary magazine Nouvelle Revue Française (NRF) (from 1925 to 1940 and again from 1946 to 1968) and a great translator of Malagasy poetry, which attracted the interest of the likes of Guillaume Apollinaire and Paul Éluard. He also wrote numerous works of literary criticism, "The Flowers of Tarbes, or Terror in Literature" (1941) probably being the most famous, and he wrote several autobiographical short stories.

After the war, Paulhan he founded "Cahiers de la Pléiade", and in 1953 he re-launched NRF.

Interestingly, especially in connection with Camus' famous essays in "L'été", which are devoted entirely to his beloved Algiers, Paulhan was loudly against independence for Algeria. He caused great controversy by opposing independence and supporting the French military during the Algerian War. This not only caused public problems for him, it also cost him on the personal front, as for instance Maurice Blanchot denounced him.

The essays in "L'été" are devoted to Algiers and represent a very personal side of Camus, who provides a marvelous poetic and humorous picture of the provincial simplicities of Oran and Algiers. For many Camus-devotees, "L'Été" constitutes one of the most beloved works, as it gives the feel of a certain intimacy with the author that few of his other works does. "In "Return to Tipasa", perhaps the most confessional essay in "Summer", which dates from a long trip to Algeria in December 1952, Camus issues his now famous testimony of survival - "In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me lay an invincible summer" (Hawes: Camus, A Romance, 2009, pp. 181-82).

Order-nr.: 58192