VERLAINE (Paul). La Bonne Chanson. P., Lemerre,... - Lot 172 - Ferri & Associés

VERLAINE (Paul). La Bonne Chanson. P., Lemerre, 1870. Small in-12, green morocco, 5-rib spine, gilt thread and cherry listel on spine and framing boards, double. in tan calf with gold thread framing, brocaded silk endpapers of the period with floral decoration, gilt tr. on witnesses, cons. covers, slipcase with folder (Alix). ORIGINAL EDITION, very rare, of this capital work by Verlaine. The 21 poems in this collection were inspired by Verlaine's romance with Mathilde Mauté de Fleurville, his future wife. Announced in 1870, the work was not finally put on sale until two years later, after the Franco-Prussian war and the events of the Paris Commune. La Bonne Chanson, a poem of love and hope addressed to the fiancée, aims to break away from "the noise of cabarets, the mire of the sidewalk" and "abhorrent beverages". (In French in the text, no. 301). A PRECIOUS COPY, ONE OF TEN PRINTED ON PAPIER DE CHINE. CHARMING BINDING BY ALIX.