The First Issue of "les Fleurs du Mal"

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

In France, Charles Baudelaire released art and literature from the classicism. Originally a middleman, he put himself on the sidelines by seeking to develop new aesthetic values. His early work on the Salons of painting renew as soon as 1845 the art critic, emphasizing quality over fame.

By the same approach, Baudelaire renews poetry. He ignores the limits of good and evil, offering new sensations by approaching sexual deviancy and drugs.

In 1857 he published the collection of his best poems under the title "Les Fleurs du Mal". Of course, moralists and religious object. We are under the reign of Napoleon III, who encourages censorship, and six poems are prohibited at the first trial. The judicial consequences of this case does not go out until 1949, confirming that Baudelaire was a century ahead of his time.

On December 1 in Paris (Hôtel Drouot), Gros et Delettrez sells the copy offered by Baudelaire to his legal advisor. This book contains a dedication, and some annotations made by the poet's hand correcting typographical errors. It is estimated 120 K €.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

One of the most sought after books of French literature in its first edition, annotated by the author and coming from a person close to him: the result, 775K € including premium, rewards the outstanding qualities of this lot.

The estimate that had been published before the sale is hardly understandable, as so often in Paris. The Agence France Presse says that another copy, also dedicated, was sold 560K € by Sotheby's in 2007.