Poèmes Juifs
Geneva: Edité par l'Eventail chez Kundig, 1919. Limited First edition. Softcover. 1/775. Octavo. 120, [6]pp. Uncut. Original wrappers with red and black lettering on front cover. Vignette on front wrap and title page. Collection of 40 Jewish poems by French poet and Zionist leader, André Spire (1868-1966). Spire was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Nancy, Lorraine. He became a member of the Conseil d'Etat in 1894, specialized in employment problems at the French ministry of labour (1898-1902), and served as inspector-general in the ministry of agriculture (1902-26). He played an active part in the Dreyfus Affair. Indeed, he fought in a duel with a columnist from the "Libre Parole" (a nationalist and antisemitic newspaper run by Edouard Drumont) for alleging that the Conseil d'Etat was under the control of Jews. Spire became an advocate of Zionism, and in 1919 represented the French Zionists at the Paris Peace Conference. As shown in this volume, his Jewish feelings strongly influenced his poetry, short stories and critical essays. One of 750 copies on Vergé Anglais paper, of a total edition of 775. Spine and edges of wrappers sunned and partly chipped. Minor age-toning along paper margin. Text in French. Wrappers in overall fair to good-, interior in good+ to very good condition. g to g+. Item #38156
Price: $65.00