Books

First trade edition, first impression, of the author's debut novel, which won the Prix Rénaudot and influenced a generation of authors including Henry Miller, George Orwell, and Henry Green. This is an unusually smart copy in wrappers from the uncommon first printing of the trade issue, with the requisite points, not the reprinted remainder of the edition transferred to a different press. There were also 110 copies printed on special paper. The points for the correct first trade printing are as follows: "Grande Imprimerie de Troyes" imprint at rear colophon, 8 pp. publisher's advertisements at the rear on grey-blue paper dated 1932, "Le Flute Corsaire" advertised on bottom right of rear wrapper as "Sous presse" and with no imprint beneath the red frame, and a lowercase "m" printed upside down p. 150 line 10, and also p. 541 line 37 (though some first printing copies are noted with only one of these, this copy has the added reassurance of both). Octavo. Original white wrappers printed in red and black. Wrappers fresh with a few minor marks, and entirely sound, general light toning within, one professionally repaired tear to one leaf (pp.503-4), an excellent copy. En français dans le texte 366; Connolly, The Modern Movement 74.

Voyage au bout de la nuit (Journey to the End of the Night) is the first novel by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, published in 1932. It is a semi-autobiographical work centering on the experiences of its protagonist, Bardamu, as he navigates the brutal realities of World War I, colonial Africa, and the industrialized society of post-war Europe.