DOVALLE (Charles). - Lot 51

DOVALLE (Charles). Le Sylphe, Poésies de feu Ch. Dovalle, précédées D'une Notice par M. Louvet, et d'une préface, par Victor Hugo. Paris : Ladvocat, 1830. - In-8, marbled half-calf à la Bradel, double cold fillet, smooth spine decorated, untrimmed (20th century binding). Posthumous first edition. Born in 1807 in Maine-et-Loire, Charles Dovalle was attracted to poetry from an early age, to the point where he gave up the legal career his parents had planned for him. A journalist with the "Écho des Salons" and the "Figaro", he was soon feared for his verve and critical spirit. He was killed in a duel in his prime for having pushed a certain Mira, son of the comedian Brunet, to the limit. A poem he had written a few minutes earlier for his parents was found on Dovalle, pierced by the bullet that killed him. At the request of the author's friends, Victor Hugo wrote a moving letter-preface especially for this edition. A good copy in modern imitation binding. A handwritten note on the flyleaf opposite the false title states that Victor Hugo's "letter-preface" was read on Saturday, July 2, 1927 by Léon Bernard at the Comédie-Française for the centenary celebration of Romanticism, and that Gerbaut recited several of Dovalle's poems for the occasion. Some wear, trace of adhesive on first cover. The last few leaves are lightly browned. Non-missing tear at top of one leaf (pp. 219-220). Provenance: F. Cresson, with bookplate. Enclosed: - NERVAL (Gérard de). La Bohème galante. Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1855. - In-18, half brown basane, smooth spine decorated (period binding). Partly first edition. A second edition copy bearing the words "Imp. Simon Raçon et comp." on the verso of the false title, while the first copy bears the words "Typ. Simon Raçon et comp. A good copy in contemporary binding. One corner broken. Minor foxing.