This is a terrific early stated 1945 printing of Nobel Prize winning Francois Mauriac's Classic The Knot of Vipers in its original French.
This small hardcover (about4x6) was purchased in France by family friends in 1948 and been well maintained since its purchase -- to that end, this 70+ year old book is in remarkably good condition without any significant flaws.
PLEASE NOTE: there is some minor edge wear to the boards, particularly along the spine, the corners of which do have minor fraying. In addition, there is of course page discoloration due to the normal aging process-- there also appears to be additional browning/spotting on the end pages likely from the significant years of storage. Please also be aware that there are two instances of added underlining in the book: the first occurs in the opening italicized introduction where a previous reader underlined two words apparently in ink, and the 2nd occurrence is on page 133 where a vertical line is written in ink next to four lines of text (I believe other than these two noted instances, the text is otherwise "clean" and without any writing, highlighting, or other added marks). Finally, the book contains the original buyer/owner of the book's name written in ink on the front inside of the book.
While it may seem that there are a number of flaws with the book, I do not consider any of such flaws problematic or too significant, especially in light of the book's age and overall good condition. Moreover, none of the flaws should interfere with one's enjoyment of the book. They generally are merely cosmetic blemishes. Nonetheless, I do recognize that such flaws do affect the collecting value of the book, and therefore, I have reduced my price for the book significantly because of them.
Other specifics:
- the book was originally published in 1932. This edition includes printing information on the Table of Contents page, which follows the end of the book. At the bottom corner of such page, it states that he book was printed in Paris by Brodard & Taupin in 1945.
- the date written with the name of the previous owner on the book's inside indicates that the book was bought at least by January 1948.
-this has never been a library copy nor a book club edition.
-there are no remainder marks.
- there is no water or other moisture damage.
- there are no missing, loose or ripped pages;
- importantly, the binding is relatively "tight and square" and otherwise in good shape with no cracks or other overt problems;
- the front and back covers of the book are "clean" and without any significant stains, scratches, stickers, wrinkling, creases or other marks or soiling.
- the spine, which includes the book's title and author's name in gold, is in tact and generally in good shape.
- the cover as a whole is in remarkably good condition for a 70+ year old book. As stated, it is clean, devoid of stains, soiling or other marks, and in tact without rips, wrinkling or creases. The above-referenced edge/corner is generally limited to the spine. While there is some minor "chipping" up and down the spine's edges and the corners do have some minor fraying, such wear is surely reasonable "wear and tear" for any 70 year old book.
- the novel has 256 pages and is broken into two "parts".
As I always attempt to do, I have included numerous photos concerning the book's condition to help potential buyers obtain the best possible understanding of the book's condition. To that end, I have included photos addressing all of the above-referenced blemishes and/or issues. Please review all of the photos to help you determine the condition of the book, but of course do not hesitate to contact me with any questions about the book or listing.