ZOLA, Émile. La débâcle.
Paris: Charpentier, 1892.

8vo (187 × 130 mm). (2) ff., 636 pp. Full red morocco, smooth spine gilt-lettered with author, title, and date; top edge gilt; original printed wrappers and backstrip preserved. Binding by Creuzevault.

First edition. One of 33 copies on Japon — an exceptionally rare issue.
Published on 24 June 1892, La Débâcle is the penultimate volume of the Rougon-Macquart. The novel had first appeared in serial form in La Vie populaire (21 February–21 July 1891).

A major historical novel, La Débâcle examines not only the Franco-Prussian War but, as Zola wrote, “the collapse of a dynasty, the crumbling of an entire era.” To document the work, Zola travelled through the battlefields, gathered first-hand testimonies, and consulted military notebooks. In an article for Le Figaro, he observed: “There is nothing left to hide or excuse in our defeats. We must explain them and accept their terrible lesson. A nation that has survived such a catastrophe is an immortal nation.”

A small restoration (a red point at the headcap). From the library of Ricardo Olivera, with his stamps.

References: Vicaire VII, 1215; Carteret II, 488; Clouzot 279.