MISTRAL, Frédéric. *Miréio*, a Provençal poem. - Lot 255

MISTRAL, Frédéric. *Miréio*, a Provençal poem. First edition of the seminal masterpiece of modern Provençal literature, a copy from the first printing, featuring an autographed dedication by the author. Avignon, J. Roumanille, 1859. In-8 (215 x 140 mm). Half-basane, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons. Contemporary binding. 515 pp. Leather faded, scuffed at the joints. The marbled paper of the endpapers is split at the hinges. First edition of *Mirèio*, featuring the Provençal text alongside the French translation. A copy from the first printing without the dedication to Lamartine or the “Note on Provençal Pronunciation.” For this edition, no printings on large-format paper were produced. The volume concludes with two notated versions of the song “Magali”: on pages 509–511, a popular Provençal melody transcribed by Fr. Seguin; on pages 513–515, an original composition in the Mixolydian mode by J.-B. Laurens. A precious copy enriched with a signed autograph dedication by Frédéric Mistral: “To Moussu Daniel Grasset.” *Mirèio* earned Mistral immediate recognition in French literary circles and was hailed as a revival of regional genius. The work notably inspired Gounod, who adapted it into an opera in 1864. Mistral received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1904 for his entire body of work and for his dedication to the Occitan language. A beautiful copy of a literary masterpiece, here in its most sought-after original condition.