Book Signed By Victor Hugo To George Sand, Ruban Binding. This book is a triple crown winner: it is a first edition in the original French that was written and signed by Victor Hugo, it is a presentation copy from Victor Hugo to George Sand, and it comes in a gold-medal award binding by Petrus Ruban from the World’s Fair held at the Brussels International Exposition in 1897. The book is titled “Actes et Paroles” by Hugo, it belonged to George Sand, and it is accompanied by the original letter that was written and signed by Petrus Ruban as well. The Brussels International Exposition was a World's Fair held in Brussels, Belgium, from May 10, 1897 through November 8, 1897, with 27 countries participating and an estimated attendance of nearly 8 million people, and this was the first time that Brussels ever held a World’s Fair. Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist and social critic who wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame as well as Les Miserables, and he was the best- known of the French Romantic writers. The title of the book here is “Actes Et Paroles 1870 - 1871 - 1872”, published in 1872 in Paris by Michel Levy Freres, Editeurs, and it is a first edition that was a collection of his political speeches from the years 1870 to 1872, the years which marked his return to France following his 19-year exile after Napoleon III’s coup d’etat in 1851. George Sand was one of the most important French Romantic writers in her own right. Her real name was Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin (1804 - 1876), an early feminist who wrote under the male pen name George Sand, and Petrus Ruban (1851 - 1929) was a French bookbinder who produced some of the finest examples of late 19th century bookbinding, as evidenced by his award-winning binding here. The gold medal stamp from the International Exposition in Bruxelles for this binding by Ruban appears in blue on the letter and is dated 1897, and Ruban’s signature is on the verso of the letter; the book itself comes in burgundy or maroon morocco, it has five raised bands with gilt lettering on the spine, a bronze medallion likeness of Napoleon III on the front cover, the initials “V.H” stand out in bronze relief inside a star with a sun- burst pattern on the back cover, there are double gilt-fillet borders with exquisite gilt bees and a crown above a gilt N in the center of the front paste-down (to signify “Napoleon”), and “P Ruban” is embossed in small gilt letters near the bottom of the gilt borders on the front paste-down. (The bees represented Napoleon III’s status as Emperor because the bee symbolized hard work, diligence, and industriousness.) And there is a beautiful paste-down featuring a golden eagle with a gilt crown above its head surrounded by gilt bees at the rear. The book was first issued as a softcover in gray wrapps and was rebound by Ruban here with the original gray wrappers intact, the signature of Victor Hugo is on the half- title page and George Sand’s name was inscribed by Hugo above Hugo’s signature - it reads “a George Sand” above Hugo’s name, which means this was a presentation copy from Victor Hugo to George Sand. A portrait of Victor Hugo by Salmon is on the frontispiece, followed by the title page, which reads “Victor Hugo — Actes Et Paroles 1870-1871-1872, Paris, Michel Levy Freres, Editeurs, Rue Auber, 3, Place De L’Opera, A La Librairie Nouvelle, Boulevard Des Italiens, 15, Au Coin De La Rue Grammont, 1872, Droits de traduction et de reproductions reserves”, then 199 pages of text, a blank leaf, and 19 pages of notes, for a total of 220 pages altogether, followed by a gray wrapper with a list of works by Victor Hugo (“Oeuvres de Victor Hugo”), and all the edges are gilt. The book is protected by a chemise cover designed by Ruban as well and helped him win the award at the World’s Fair. The wrap-around chemise has five raised bands and gilt lettering on the spine, soft gray-brown leather on the inside of the chemise binding, with a colorful marbled pattern on the front and rear covers of the chemise. The background to the book: when Napoleon III took absolute control of France in 1851, he abolished their democratic system of government. In response, Hugo labelled him a traitor to his country, Hugo’s remarks rendered him unwelcome in his homeland, and he was forced into exile. Hugo's exile lasted until the return of liberty and the reconstitution of the republic in 1870, and Hugo wrote the book afterwards. In French, the letterhead reads “Reliures Artistiques, Petrus Ruban, 9, Rue de Savoie, 9, Anciennement 16 Rue Dauphine, Paris, Medailles D’Argent aux Expositions de Paris 1886 - 1889”, with the blue stamp from the World’s Fair in Brussels that reads “Exposition Internationale Bruxelles 1897 Medaille D’Or”, and the body of the letter reads “Paris 17 Ocbre 1897, Monsieur G Payson, Chicago, J’ai l’honneur de vous accuser reception a votre cheque a 300 francs et vous informe en meme temps que j’ai reçue a la Maison Michell et Kimbell expositeur pour les etats unis le volume Actes et Paroles Tout vous trouverez ci inclus la facture acquitter. J'ai prefere vous envoyer ci volume [ ] il est beaucoup plus interessant au point de vue du volume que [ ] la signature de Victor Hugo a Georges Sand, ci que en fait un volume rare et comme reliure il est tres original rappel l'epoque de Napoleon III c'est doue un volume unique Je vous joins ci inclus le [ ] du voyage de Paris a Saint Cloud Tout le prix est de 200 francs si vous le desirez je la tiens a votre disposition Daignez agreer Monsieur ici mes remerciements mas salutations empressées”, and in small print, “Imp. E. Verneau, 108 rue de [ ] goes up the left side of the letter, near the bottom. Translated into English, the letterhead reads “Artistic Bindings, Petrus Ruban, 9, Savoie Street, 9, Formerly 16 Dauphine Street, Paris, Silver Medals at the Paris Expositions 1886 - 1889”, the blue stamp reads “International Exhibition Brussels 1897 Gold Medal” - “medaille d’or” stands for “gold medal“ in French - and the body of the letter reads “I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your check for 300 francs and inform you at the same time that I have received from the House of Michell and Kimbell exhibitor for the United States the volume Actes et Paroles Everything you find here includes the invoice to pay. I preferred to send you this volume [ ] it is much more interesting from the point of view of the book than the signature of Victor Hugo and Georges Sand, this is a rare volume and as a binding, it is very original, a reminder of the time of Napoleon III’s era. It's a unique book. I am attaching to you here the [ ] of the trip from Paris to Saint Cloud The whole price is 200 francs if you want it I have it at your disposal Deign to accept Sir here my thanks my earnest greetings P Ruban" The letter and Ruban’s signature provide great provenance for the book and the award. We believe George Payson was from Chicago and in the publishing business. He was born in 1862 and died in Chicago in 1943, and he was also related by marriage to Joan Whitney Payson, an American heiress, businesswoman, and philanthropist who was part owner of the New York Giants baseball team and later owner and president of the New York Mets, so a fine pedigree. The book is 8vo. and measures 7 1/2 x 4 7/8 in. wide, the binding is tight, the gray wrappers are in great condition, the pages and text are exceptionally clean, and the only apology to the book is a light orange brown stain on the last blank endpaper at the rear, which we believe is from glue that leaked during the binding, and there’s minute specks of rubbing by “Paris 1872” at the heel of the spine on the flexible outer binding by Ruban. The letter is crisp and easy to read, with small holes at the centerfold of the letter and a light orange brown stain on the verso of the letter running up the fold in the middle, and we believe it is also from some glue that leaked during the binding process, and it is a perfect match to the stain on the last blank endpaper at the rear of the book, so we think the letter was laid into the book when the gluing process was done; the stain does not touch or affect any of the text or writing in the letter. The letter is also protected by archival plastic. The book is in a fine binding by Petrus Ruban, it is signed by Victor Hugo and was a presentation copy to George Sand, it was a gold medal winner at the International Exposition in Brussels in 1897, there is no other copy like this one in the whole world - the book and binding are unique - and it is a triple crown winner in every sense. #2662