(2) Books by Sartre, (1) by Camus, and (1) by Huxley, All 20th Century.
Size: (largest) 7 3/4 X 5 1/4 X 1 in.
This lot consists of four books by some of the most important authors of the twentieth century: a) The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre, translated from the French by Eric Sutton and published by Hamish Hamilton in London in 1947, b) The Reprieve By Jean-Paul Sartre, translated from the French by Eric Sutton and published by Hamish Hamilton in London in 1947, c) Science Liberty And Peace by Aldous Huxley and published by Harper & Brothers in New York and London in 1946, and d) Exile And The Kingdom by Albert Camus, translated from the French by Justin O’Brien and published in New York in 1958.
The two Sartre books were part of a trilogy, The Roads to Freedom (Les Chemins de la Liberte). The Age of Reason was the first book in the trilogy, first published in France in 1945 as L’Age de Raison, the English edition was first published in 1947 and this is the second edition, also printed in 1947. The book has red covers with gilt lettering on the spine, blank endpapers, the title page, the copyright information, and 360 pages of text. The book measures 7 1/2 x 5 1/4 inches wide and is in good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text, light wear on the heel and crown, a few spots on the front cover, faint brown spots on the bottom of a couple of pages near the beginning, and it’s missing the front flyleaf. The Reprieve was the second book in the trilogy and was first published in France as Le Sursis in 1945, and this English edition was first published in 1947. The boy has red covers, with black lettering on the spine, black endpapers, then the title page, the copyright page, and 398 pages of text. The book measures 7 1/2 x 5 1/8 inches wide and is in very good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text. There is light rubbing on the heel and crown, the spine has has faded a bit, and a few pages have corner creases.
Science Liberty And Peace is a first edition by Aldous Huxley and comes with the dust jacket, “first edition” is stated on the copyright page, there are 86 pages of text, and the dust jack has the original $1.00 price on the front flap. The book measures 7 3/4 x 5 3/8 inches wide and is in very good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text for the most part, a couple brown spots on the endpapers and a couple of small bumps at the tips, and the dust jacket is in good condition, with faint soiling and a light abrasion on the spine and chips at the heel and crown.
The Camus book is one-quarter bound with gilt lettering on the spine, stars incised on the front cover, blank endpapers with a number on the front flyleaf, a list of books by Camus before the half-title, the title page says the book was published by Alfred Knopf in 1958, the copyyright page says it is the first American edition, there are 213 pages of text and a page about the author and a note about the type used to print the book at the rear, and the Borzoi logo is on the back cover of the book. The book measures 7 3/4 x 5 1/4 inches wide and is in good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text. The spine has faded a bit, there is light rubbing at the tips, and faint shadow lines at the top edge of the covers, like the book had been placed next to a smaller book on a shelf and was in the sunlight a bit. (The Borzoi logo just signifies that the book was published by Alfred Knopf; it features a Russian wolfhound and was chosen as the company’s logo by Blanche Knopf, Alfred’s wife, who was fond of the breed.)
An interesting group of books by some of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.
