DAUDET, Alphonse. Numa Roumestan.
Paris: Charpentier, 1881.
Octavo (188 x 128 mm). (4) ff., 345 pp., (1) f. Original wrappers preserved.
Lavallière half morocco with corners, richly decorated raised bands, author, title and date in gilt, top edge gilt (V. Champs).
A precious copy of the first edition, on Holland paper, with the manuscript draft of the preface for the second edition.
The autograph manuscript comprises 12 pages in all, 5 of them struck through. In it he speaks of his inspiration, his reading, the reception the book received, and also mentions the resemblance the protagonist bears to Gambetta. He further recalls his cherished moments reading the week's instalment of the plot to his illustrator, as well as the writers he greatly admired: Zola, Balzac, Sade…
