MAUPASSANT (Guy de). Mademoiselle Fifi. - Lot 222

MAUPASSANT (Guy de). Mademoiselle Fifi. Precious copy on large paper, very well preserved in an elegant binding by Gruel. Paris, Victor Havard, 1883. One volume in-12 (198 x 150 mm). Cherry red half-maroquin with corners, spine ribbed, author and title stamped in gold, gilt head. Covers and spine preserved. Binding signed GRUEL. 319 pp. Slight rubbing to covers, nerves and corners. Largely original edition, enlarged with eleven new tales. The first edition, published in 1882, contained only seven. One of 25 copies on Hollande paper, the only large paper edition. This collection of short stories is one of Maupassant's most famous. It opens with the eponymous short story, "Mademoiselle Fifi", a masterpiece about the 1870 war, featuring the sacrifice of a prostitute against the arrogance of a Prussian officer. A fine, fresh and clean copy.