The true first edition, first issue, without mention of edition, printed in Brussels. A beautiful copy printed on fine vellum paper.<\/span><\/p>\nFirst issue copy, no mention of edition.<\/p>\n
Among bibliophiles, the question of the first edition of Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/i> is still debated. Indeed, the Paris and Brussels editions were initially intended to be published simultaneously. However, they differ in their preparatory stages and in the date of their release.<\/p>\n
It was indeed to Lacroix that Victor Hugo sent all his corrections, as his correspondence amply attests. Thus, in a letter addressed to the publisher on 19 January 1862, Hugo \u00ab envoie [\u2026] les cinq bon \u00e0 tirer<\/i> des cinq feuilles 6, 7, 8, 10 et 11. \u00bb and \u00ab recommande instamment les corrections \u00bb.In the same letter, he also emphasises \u00ab M. P. Meurice attend toujours. Il me semble qu\u2019il serait grand temps de commencer l\u2019\u00e9dition de Paris \u00bb (Hugo, Victor, Correspondance<\/i>, Albin-Michel, Paris, 1947. p.369), confirming Belgium’s primacy in the actual publishing process of the work.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, it was also with Lacroix that he discussed the physicality of the volumes of Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/i>. In a letter dated 3 February, the idea of splitting the first two volumes into three was raised. Hugo opposed the idea and made his decision the very next day: \u00ab Faites deux volumes et non trois. \u00bb (Hugo, Correspondance<\/i>, 1947. pp.370-372).<\/p>\n
Lacroix is therefore the true publisher of Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/i>. He even had the following inscription added opposite the title pages of the Parisian volumes: \u00ab \u00e9diteur : Lacroix et Verboeckhoven & Cie<\/sup> \u00bb. <\/p>\nIt also appears that he distributed Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/i> before Paris. Lacroix is responsible for shipping the volumes around the world. He informs Hugo on 30 March that \u00ab tout est tir\u00e9, tout \u00e9tait broch\u00e9 et les exp\u00e9ditions pour l’\u00e9tranger en partie faites \u00bb. Lacroix then distributed the first two volumes, Fantine, the very next day. Pagnerre, who had planned to distribute Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/i> on 7 April, brought the release forward to the 3rd after learning that Paul Siraudin had obtained a copy in Belgium on 31 March.<\/p>\n
Beyond the debatable Belgian precedence, Hugo truly appreciated the Brussels printing, which became a model for his future novels. A few years later, he inscribed on his copy of Les Travailleurs de la Mer<\/i>: \u00ab Depuis que j’ai mm. Lacroix, Verbo\u00ebkhoven et Cie pour \u00e9diteurs, c’est toujours l’\u00e9dition belge princeps<\/u> qui doit servir de type aux \u00e9ditions futures. V. H \u00bb (Maison de Victore Hugo, c\u00f4te 9819.1).<\/p>\n
Victor Hugo\u2019s \u201cgreat novel has been hailed as a masterpiece of popular literature, an epic poem in prose about God, humanity, and Hugo\u2026 Hugo hoped that Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/i> would be one of if not the \u2018principal summits\u2019 of his body of works. Despite its length, complexity, and occasionally unbelievable plot and characterization, it remains a masterpiece of popular literature. It anticipates Balzac in its realism, but in its flights of imagination and lyricism, its theme of redemption, and its melding of myth and history, it is uniquely Hugo\u201d (Dolbow, 149, 214).<\/p>\n
“Ouvrage capital et universellement estim\u00e9. Un des plus colossaux succ\u00e8s de librairie, c’est un des livres qui s’est le plus vendu… Ce roman parut le m\u00eame jour \u00e0 Paris, \u00e0 Bruxelles, \u00e0 Leipzig, \u00e0 Londres, \u00e0 Milan, \u00e0 Madrid, \u00e0 Rotterdam, \u00e0 Varsovie, \u00e0 Pesthe et \u00e0 Rio de Janeiro” (Carteret).<\/p>\n
The edition of Les Mis\u00e9rables is divided into five main parts, each consisting of two volumes, namely: Fantine (1-2), Cosette (3-4), Marius (5-6), L’Idylle rue Plumet (7-8), and Jean Valjean (9-10). Exceptionally, in addition to the title, the bookbinder has also gilded the titles of each part and their respective books on the spine of the bindings.<\/p>\n
Copies preserved in beautiful contemporary bindings are rare.<\/p>\n
A very fine copy, very fresh with wide margins, and exceptional paper quality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
10 volumes 8vo (225 x 144 mm) 3 un.l. (half-title, title, introduction), 405 pp. for volume I; 443 pp. for volume II; 402 pp. for volume III; 366 pp. for volume IV ; 357 pp., 1 un.l. (bookseller’s advertising for Les Mis\u00e9rables)<\/i> for volume V; 346 pp. for volume VI; 490 pp. for volume VII; 466 pp., 1 un.l. (mounted on the rear end paper) for volume VIII; 447 pp. for volume IX; 355 pp. for volume X. Contemporary green half-morocco, single vertical filet on covers, spine with raised bands, compartments gilt with title, volume number, section title and section volume, marbled edges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":88512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[544],"product_tag":[598,1450],"class_list":{"0":"post-88523","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-literature","7":"product_tag-19th-century-literature","8":"product_tag-first-edition","9":"pa_auteur-hugo-victor-2","10":"pa_type-de-livre-printed-book","12":"first","13":"instock","14":"shipping-taxable","15":"purchasable","16":"product-type-simple"},"acf":{"artist":" Victor HUGO","chapeau":"One of the greatest novels of the 19th century\r\nThe true first edition","adresse_bibliographique":"Bruxelles, Lacroix, Verboeckhoven & Cie, 1862","book_type":"Printed book","provenance":"","afficher_prix":"oui"},"yoast_head":"\nHUGO Victor Les Mis\u00e9rables. - Libairie Clavreuil<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.librairieclavreuil.com\/en\/hugo-victor-les-miserables\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HUGO Victor Les Mis\u00e9rables. - Libairie Clavreuil\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"10 volumes 8vo (225 x 144 mm) 3 un.l. 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