Le Feu

BARBUSSE, Henri. Le Feu.
Paris, Flammarion, 1917.

In-8 (190 x 127 mm), (2) ff., 349 pp., (1) f.
Full black Jansenist leather binding, ribbed spine, author and title in gold, double fillet on the edges, gilt cap, interior roulette, untrimmed (M. Godillot).

Extraordinary, unique edition, decorated with 15 watercolours and 107 pencil drawings by Albert Morand (19th-20th century).
Most of the watercolours are signed, as are some of the drawings at the beginning of each chapter.

A legendary work of literature from the Great War, Le Feu earned Barbusse the Prix Goncourt in 1916. This ‘diary of a squad’ remains one of the most powerful accounts of the conflict, both for its political significance and the quality of its writing.

Albert Morand was an interior painter who became associated with the Salon de la Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1898. He received an award in 1950 for La prison Saint-Lazare (Benezit, VI).

Superb copy.