L’Hotel du Nord.

DABIT, Eugene.

$2,500.00

Item Number: 144043

Paris: Robert Denoël, 1929.

First edition of the author’s immensely popular novel. Octavo, bound in full crushed levant morocco by Valmard with gilt titles to the spine, marbled endpapers and additional patterned silk endleaves, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by Valmard, with two illustrations signed by Dabit mounted to the front and rear pastedown. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page to Bernard Steele. Hors commerce copy, from a total edition of 250 numbered copies. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom marbled slipcase. Rare.

A loose collection of sentimental tales about simple people residing in a hotel, L'Hôtel du Nord won the du Prix du roman populiste and was filmed in 1938 by Marcel Carné. "The words sound like they came out of a conjurer's hat. It is the same in all languages. I can't say it or hear it anymore. Besides, it no longer belongs to me. It belongs to the public, and I know that in the mouths of many strangers, it is a pledge of their friendship. When I reread the novel by Eugène Dabit from which the film is based a little later, I saw that these words were not mentioned there once. It was a pure invention of Jeanson. A poet's find" (Arletty).