MERIMEE Prosper La Chambre bleue.

Clouzot, 202.

Second edition, very much sought after "étant donné la quasi-impossibilité de se procurer la première" (Clouzot). The unobtainable first edition was printed in only 3 copies in the city of Biarritz in 1866.

Mérimée dedicated this story to "Madame de la Rhune", the name of a peak in the Pyrenees where the Empress liked to go on excursions with the court. The last page bears the printed words: "composed and written by Prosper Mérimée, madme about S. M. the Empress". An autograph letter signed by Mérimée (1 p. 1/2 in-8) addressed to an addressee living in London has been bound at the head: "Here is a note for Mr Sutton Sharpe, a distinguished London barrister and moreover a man of wit. He will introduce you to Mr Pasta" (famous for his literary salon).

Limited edition of 129 copies, this is one of 20 on Hollande.

A fine copy, untrimmed and perfectly bound by Champs.