{"product_id":"oscar-wilde-s-la-maison-de-la-courtisane","title":"Oscar Wilde’s La Maison de la Courtisane","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Publisher’s Own Hollande-Paper Copy of a Rare French Wilde Collection\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWILDE, Oscar. \u003cem\u003eLa Maison de la Courtisane. Nouveaux poèmes.\u003c\/em\u003e Paris: P.-V. Stock, 1919. \u003cem\u003eBibliothèque cosmopolite\u003c\/em\u003e, no. 72. Translation by Albert Savine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA rare and highly attractive French Wilde imprint: the publisher’s own copy of \u003cem\u003eLa Maison de la Courtisane\u003c\/em\u003e, one of only ten copies printed on Hollande paper, numbered and signed by the publisher and preserved in a handsome custom binding with the original wrappers retained.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIssued in Paris by P.-V. Stock in 1919 as part of the celebrated \u003cem\u003eBibliothèque cosmopolite\u003c\/em\u003e series, the volume belongs to the early posthumous French reception of Oscar Wilde, when French readers and publishers played a decisive role in transforming Wilde from disgraced aesthete into a canonical modern literary figure. The present example is especially distinguished not only by its limitation, but by its remarkable publisher association and later provenance from the important Wilde collector Jeremy J. Mason.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEdition \u0026amp; Physical Description\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOctavo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst French edition of this Stock collection. One of only ten copies printed on Hollande paper, this being number 3, numbered and signed or initialled by the publisher. The limitation statement reads:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“De cet ouvrage il a été tiré à part dix exemplaires sur papier de Hollande, numérotés et paraphés par l’éditeur.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBound in half blue cloth over blue marbled boards with green morocco lettering piece, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed, publisher’s yellow wrappers bound in, preserved in the original blue cloth slipcase. The restrained yet elegant binding suits the refined bibliophilic character of the edition particularly well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe French Wilde\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLa Maison de la Courtisane\u003c\/em\u003e does not correspond to a single English Wilde volume in this form, but instead represents a distinctly French editorial construction assembled for the posthumous continental Wilde audience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTranslated by Albert Savine, the collection gathers poems, prose fragments, meditations, prison writings, and literary pieces from across Wilde’s oeuvre under the symbolic title of \u003cem\u003eThe Harlot’s House\u003c\/em\u003e, here rendered as \u003cem\u003eLa Maison de la Courtisane\u003c\/em\u003e. The resulting volume functions almost as a miniature French Wilde anthology, blending decadence, aestheticism, lyricism, melancholy, and prison reflection into a unified literary portrait.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe contents include French translations of many of Wilde’s best-known poems and prose texts, among them \u003cem\u003eThe Harlot’s House\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eRavenna\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Sphinx\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSymphony in Yellow\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eUnder the Balcony\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLotus Leaves\u003c\/em\u003e, the prison letters to the \u003cem\u003eDaily Chronicle\u003c\/em\u003e, and several prose fragments assembled specifically for a French readership fascinated by Wilde’s combination of beauty, scandal, wit, and suffering.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe volume therefore belongs not merely to Wilde bibliography, but to the broader European reinvention of Wilde’s literary identity after his death.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Publisher’s Copy\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe present example is especially remarkable for its association with the publisher itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInserted within the volume is a typed bookseller’s slip on Croxley Script watermarked paper headed “Oscar Wilde,” transcribed as follows:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOscar Wilde\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLA MAISON DE LA COURTISANE Nouveaux Poemes. Traduction\u003cbr\u003ed’Albert Savine. Paris, P.-V. Stock, 1919.\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition. No. 3 of ten copies on Hollande,\u003cbr\u003enumbered and signed by the publisher. Bound in\u003cbr\u003ehalf blue cloth and blue marbled boards; original\u003cbr\u003ewrappers bound in; green morocco lettering piece.\u003cbr\u003eThis copy was originally the publisher’s. In fine\u003cbr\u003estate in blue cloth slip-case.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e£250\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe slip corresponds precisely to the present volume and preserves an additional historical layer surrounding the book’s early bibliophilic life. Particularly striking is the explicit identification of the volume as “originally the publisher’s,” transforming the copy from a simple limitation issue into a more intimate relic of the Parisian publishing world that shaped Wilde’s posthumous French reputation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProvenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the collection of Jeremy J. Mason, with his bookplate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMason assembled one of the notable modern collections of Wilde material, including books, manuscripts, letters, portraits, and associated Wildeana. His ownership further strengthens the bibliophilic significance of the present copy and situates it within an important modern tradition of Wilde collecting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe typed bookseller’s slip recording the publisher association remains preserved within the volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCondition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA fine and unusually well-preserved copy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hollande-paper text leaves remain generally clean and fresh with only mild toning and occasional small spots. The publisher’s yellow wrappers, preserved within the binding, show light handling and gentle toning. Deckled and untrimmed edges survive throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe half blue cloth binding remains attractive and sound, and the original blue cloth slipcase is present. The laid-in typed bookseller’s slip retains old folds and creases from handling and storage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn exceptionally desirable Wilde association copy combining rarity, limitation, publisher provenance, and distinguished collecting history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eReferences\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIssued as \u003cem\u003eBibliothèque cosmopolite\u003c\/em\u003e, no. 72. One of ten Hollande-paper copies signed or initialled by the publisher.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Atelier Zweig Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46861391331516,"sku":null,"price":750.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0736\/1285\/3436\/files\/wilde-1.png?v=1779517275","url":"https:\/\/atelierzweig.com\/products\/oscar-wilde-s-la-maison-de-la-courtisane","provider":"Atelier Zweig Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}