Thais

London: Charles Carrington, 1901. First English Edition. Hardcover. Good. 8vo 8" - 9" tall. Martin van Maele. Thais, a social historical, then considered erotic novel, revolving around events in the life of Saint Thais of Egypt, an early convert to Christianity. Plentiful plates, each protected by captioned tissue guards, printed in red. First published in 1890, it inspired an 1894 opera of the same name by Jules Massenet, a silent film of the same name in 1917, and a Polish language adaptation of same in 1984. Illustrated beautifully by Martin van Maeele, 21 fine etchings, remarkably busy and involved. Illustrations are odd in that many are black-and-white but then bordered in duotone. First Limited Edition Thus, tall octavo format, measuring 9" x 6 1/3" tall and wide, respectively. Grey silk linen over boards, ruled panels front and rear, title on spine. Burgundy endpapers front and rear. Etched plates protected with bound-in tissue guards. Some uncut, untrimmed pages fore-edge and bottom edge. Top edge gilt. Uncommon in the trade, being one of 500 printed on handmade Van Gelder paper. Some light, uniform toning to pages and to some of the engraved plates, light dust-soiling to fore- and bottom edges. Rubbing to cloth extremities, and with some dampstaining and resulting tide-lining. Still quite attractive, still quite important. Anatole France (born François-Anatole Thibault, 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a classic French Man of Letters, celebrated justly for his poetry, journalism, novels and literary criticism. He won the 1921 Nobel Prize for Literature. He was also "the son of a bookseller" and was "around books" his entire life. The subject of this racy hagiography is St. Thais, who reportedly lived during the fourth century in Roman Egypt, with hagiographies devoted to her that were penned in Greek during the fifth century and in Latin during the sixth or seventh century and in medieval Latin in the 12th century. She also features in Greek and Latin martyrologies. Around St. Thais revolves considerable controversy and discussion as to the facticity of her life and acts. Had she traveled to Persia with the campaign of Alexander? Does she belong on the Calendar of the Catholic Church? in 1901 the Egyptologist Albert Gayet (1856–1916) announced the discovery near Antinoe in Egypt "of the mummified remains of St. Thais and of Bishop Sérapion," which were exhibited at the Musee Guimet in Paris, and then questions began to be asked as to authenticity (Wikipedia). Anatole France renders her as having been wealthy and beautiful, "a courtesan living in the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria," though she was sinfully erotic to the public, and accounts of her conversion to Christianity are fraught with controversy and unclarity. Frontis matter, frontispiece, title, [1], vi-x, [5], 4-304 pp.Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. Additional postage may be required for oversize or especially heavy volumes, and for sets.