Item Details
Down There [Là-Bas].
London: Fortune Press, 1930. First UK edition. Hardcover Cloth. "Là-Bas, translated as Down There or The Damned, is a novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans, first published in 1891. It is Huysmans' most famous work after À Rebours. Là-Bas deals with the subject of Satanism in contemporary France. The plot of Down There concerns the novelist Durtal, who is disgusted by the emptiness and vulgarity of the modern world. He seeks relief by turning to the study of the Middle Ages and the life of the notorious 15th-century child-murderer Gilles de Rais. He embarks on an investigation of the occult underworld with the help of his lover Madame Chantelouve. The novel culminates with a description of a black mass." Essential occult and self-loathing fiction. "With an introduction by Lucien Descaves. Although the justification page states that this is an edition of 2,050 copies, it is clear that nothing like this amount of copies was actually produced. This edition is second only in rarity to that of the original Groves & Michaux edition on which it is based."--Huysmans Bibliography. This copy, regardless of title page lacking is still considered a scarcity because of the "Fortune Press edition of 'Down There' is comprised of the printed sheets of the Groves & Michaux edition, but with the addition of a new title page and justification page (on matching paper and using some of the same typefaces, so presumably printed at the same printer in France). Bibliographical evidence may be in short supply, but by looking at such facts as there are, and at the secondary evidence surrounding them, the only credible conclusion to be drawn is that the Groves & Michaux edition of 'Down There' was never actually put on sale commercially. As for the Fortune Press edition, that too is extremely rare.'. 'A clue to how many Fortune Press copies exist or were produced lies in the fact that all the copies were numbered and none of the copies that are held in libraries or that have come up for sale over the last few years have had numbers greater than 500. There is possibility therefore that Caton purchased only 500 sets of sheets, rather than the 2,050 that is the stated print run. There are, however, clear and obvious reasons for the paucity of copies of 'Down There' : it would not have made commercial sense for Caton to bind the whole edition in one go, for example. The Fortune Press edition of 'Down There' is a relatively sumptuous affair.it is most likely that, as he did with later and less expensive Fortune Press editions, Caton bound up batches of copies as and when he needed them. Another more serious factor affecting the number of surviving copies is that of legal confiscation, either by customs or in targeted raids...."--Ashton Rare Books. Very Good+. Light shelfwear, bumped corners, rubbing, toning throughout, and untrimmed pp, major: lacking tp and starting hinge, else tight, bright, and unmarred. 8vo., xi, 387pp. Bound in full leather, with gilt spine titling. Edition is limited to 50 copies on Rives Mould-Made paper numbered 1-50 and 2000 copies on Antique Laid paper numbered 51-2050. This is number 113. Half-title present, tp lacking and dj. Item #12452
Price: $550.00