SIMENON (Georges). L’Aîné des Ferchaux. Novel. Paris: Gallimard, [1945]. — In-8, 204 x 140: 296 pp., (2 ff.), printed cover. Brown morocco, covers largely covered with paper in shades of brown, green, and silver, plain spine, gilt head, untrimmed, cover and spine preserved (Alix). First edition. In this detective novel, Simenon tells the story of Michel Maudet, a poor man, and his wife Lina, who leave Valenciennes for Paris. Maudet becomes the secretary to Dieudonné Ferchaux, a wealthy and controversial man, a former colonist in Africa. Their relationship, initially marked by admiration, turns to hatred and tension as they flee across France and on to the tropics. But Maudet, ambitious and manipulative, remains tied to Ferchaux out of necessity. One of 23 numbered copies on Lafuma pure-fiber vellum (No. IX), the only edition printed on large-format paper. A very fine copy bound by Alix.