Petite Idole.

BERNHARDT, Sarah.

$2,000.00

Item Number: 134711

Paris: Editions Nilsson, 1921.

First edition of this work, lengthily inscribed by legendary actress Sarah Bernhardt. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers, front panel illustration by Maggy Monier. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed with an eight line inscription from Bernhardt on the half-title page, “A Leon Deffocce je ne crois pas que mon petite roman arrete un instant vos regards, mais la cependant vous en lirez quelques pages Soyez clement pour. Sarah Bernhardt.” In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.

Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including La Dame Aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas fils; Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo, Fédora and La Tosca by Victorien Sardou, and L'Aiglon by Edmond Rostand. She also played male roles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet. Rostand called her "the queen of the pose and the princess of the gesture", while Hugo praised her "golden voice". She made several theatrical tours around the world, and was one of the first prominent actresses to make sound recordings and to act in motion pictures.