FRANCE, Anatole and BEAUNE, Serge. Contemporary History. L'O - Lot 156

FRANCE, Anatole and BEAUNE, Serge. Contemporary History. L'Orme du mail. A beautifully illustrated volume on tinted vellum, comprising the first volume of *Contemporary History*. Paris, Éditions du Sagittaire, published by Simon Kra, 1922. In-8, paperback, padded cover adorned with a gray border. 311 pp., color frontispiece and numerous color illustrations (one banner, one inset, and one end-of-chapter illustration per chapter). A small stain at the top of the spine. Illustrated edition based on watercolors by Serge Beaune (1886–1958), reproduced in Jean Saudé’s studios. Elegant typographic ornamentation in black and brown on every page. Limited edition of 1,000 copies; this is one of 750 numbered copies on tinted vellum (no. 331). *L'Orme du mail*, a novel published in 1897, is the first installment of the tetralogy *L’Histoire contemporaine*, in which Anatole France paints a satirical and anticlerical portrait of provincial life. In fine condition.