DABIT, Eugène. Petit-Louis - Villa Oasis. - Lot 126

DABIT, Eugène. Petit-Louis - Villa Oasis. Two first editions on pure-fiber vellum, bound uniformly, from the library of Pierre Mac Orlan. Paris, Gallimard - Nrf, 1930 and 1932. 2 in-12 volumes, each bound in red half-maroquin with corner pieces, four-ribbed spine, panels adorned with a longitudinal design consisting of two gilt fillets framing a gilt band, gilt head, covers and spine preserved. Bindings signed Jules-Karl Van West. Minimal scuffing on the caps and corners. First editions bound in matching bindings that belonged to the writer Pierre Mac Orlan (1882–1970), featuring his bookplate designed by Gus Bofa with the amusing motto: “Where did you get this book? Could it be, by any chance, from Mac Orlan?” One of 647 numbered copies on Lafuma-Navarre pure-fiber vellum for *Petit-Louis* and one of 222 for *Villa Oasis*. In these two novels, Eugène Dabit (1898–1936) describes life in Paris during World War I through the eyes of Petit-Louis, a young boy who leaves school to work while his father is called to the front. *Villa Oasis* takes us on a journey through the lives of the nouveau riche and the Parisian petit bourgeoisie of the 1930s. Beautiful copies, exquisitely bound by Jules-Karl Van West, a bookbinder of Belgian origin who settled in Saint-Brice-la-Forêt in 1925, where he had his workshop built before returning to his native country in 1939.