VÉRON, Louis. Five Hundred Thousand Francs in Annuity. - Lot 309

VÉRON, Louis. Five Hundred Thousand Francs in Annuity. First edition of this novel about speculation and the intoxication of wealth. A copy with a dedication, accompanied by a signed autograph letter. Paris, Librairie Nouvelle, 1855. In-8, black half-shagreen, ribbed spine, panels decorated with small corner metal fittings. 389 pp. Binding scuffed, tear at the top joint, cap bands missing, paper loss at the corners, top hinge split, foxing, autograph letter frayed. First edition of this social novel by Louis Véron (1798–1867), a journalist and politician who denounced the world of financial speculation. This copy is enhanced by an autograph letter signed by the author, addressed to his friend Jules Lecomte, a journalist and playwright (1814–1864). Also included, at the beginning of the volume, is an autograph letter signed by the author (1½ pages, in-8, December 1855) in which he reflects on the origins of his subject. ““I have seen the most upright minds and the noblest hearts yield to the influence of material interest [...] I have seen the selfishness of easy wealth. I wanted to show, through a realistic fiction [...] the intoxication of money.”