DINET (Étienne) - SLIMAN BEN IBRAHIM BAÂMER. El Fiafi Oua El Kifar ou le désert. Paris: H. Piazza, [1911]. - In-8, 229x164: (1 blank f.), 198 pp. (4 ff. last 2 blank), illustrated cover. Jansenist red morocco, ribbed spine, six gilt fillets framing the outside, red silk lining and endpapers, double endpapers, gilt edges on witnesses, cover and spine preserved, edged slipcase (G. G. Levitzky). First edition of this hybrid, poetic tale, the result of a collaboration between Orientalist painter Étienne Dinet (1861-1929) and writer Sliman ben Ibrahim (1870-1953). It follows the adventures of Chikh Châïb, a Moroccan traveler whose adventures across the Sahara and the oases explore the tensions between nomadism and sedentarism, between reality and imagination. Chikh Châïb evolves through three journeys that mark his transformation: a rebirth as a Saharan after an initiatory ordeal, a social and symbolic ascent, and finally a spiritual conversion to Mecca. The edition is illustrated with numerous color ornaments and frames, and 50 color compositions by Étienne DINET (1861-1929), 25 of which are full-page. Edition of 450 copies. This one is an hors commerce copy, on wove paper, not mentioned in the justification. It bears the number VIII and has been enriched with a proof, in a different tint, of the illustration on page 69. A fine copy bound by the Ukrainian-born bookbinder Gregoire Levitsky (1885-1965). Some rubbing to nerves.