GENEVOIX (Maurice). Forêt voisine. Paris : Ernest Flammarion, [1933]. - In-12, 192 x 175: (1 blank f.), 282 pp, (2 ff.), printed cover. Paperback, green cloth chemise and later cardboard slipcase. Thiébaud, 453. Second edition, after that of 1931, of this novel by Maurice Genevoix, devoted in large part to the conservation of habitat and animal species, and in which 4 chapters are devoted to hunting (IX to XII). One of the first 10 numbered copies on Hollande paper, with 25 original watercolors by painter Maurice ASSELIN (1882-1947). These 25 watercolors were done in the margins, sometimes following the text. The artist identified himself on the false title, indicating: "Dessins et aquarelles Maurice Asselin." According to Bénézit, "the lessons of the academic painter Cormon undoubtedly influenced him less than his discovery, at the Musée du Luxembourg, of the Impressionist painters. If, according to André Salmon, "Claude Monet rescued Asselin from the juices and bitumen, Cézanne, more profound, incited him to construction and confirmed him in his ambition for an art that would be both the most lively and the most classical". Still, one must be cautious in determining his influences, since for Asselin himself: "Art is nothing but instinct and passion, and springs from a marvelous love of life." Staying close to life, he paints warm, intimate scenes, portraying family members, especially his wife and friends. It's with emotion that he renders landscapes, especially when they are watercolors with rapid, luminous strokes. Although Brittany inspired him to paint seascapes, his frequent stays in England and London enabled him to make contact with literary circles, as he did in Paris. He is also a painter of nudes and still lifes. He illustrated, among others: Rien qu'une femme, by Francis Carco; Mort de quelqu'un, by Jules Romain and the Rapsodie foraine, taken from Amours jaunes by Tristan Cornière" (Bénézit, I, p. 506). Attached 2 autograph pages from the artist, listing the pages on which the watercolors are found. He has omitted those on pages 34 and 134. A very well preserved copy, despite some pitting.