KESSEL (Joseph). Slave Markets. Paris: Les Éditions de France, 1933. — In-8, 198 x 125: (4 blank folios at the beginning), 223 pp., (2 folios), printed cover. Black Jansenist morocco leather, smooth spine, black morocco leather endpapers, gray morocco leather headbands, gilt head, untrimmed, cover and spine preserved (YX, 1990). First edition. This work is a literary report based on an investigation conducted in 1930 for *Le Matin*. In it, Kessel exposes traditional slavery in Arab societies—tolerated by the Quran—and traces the slave trade from the abduction of children and women in Ethiopia to their transport to the Red Sea. With a small team, including Henry de Monfreid, Kessel crossed deserts and seas to expose this scourge. Beyond the reportage, he explores the predatory nature of man, showing that slavery persists in other forms, even in so-called civilized societies. One of 85 copies printed on pure Lafuma vellum (No. 84), the second major paper run following 26 copies on Holland paper. A beautiful copy in a triple-sewn binding made in 1990 and signed with the initials YX.