A Gascon pilgrim's journey and literary legacy

Description

DERENNES (Charles) The Pilgrim of Gascony. Paris, French Illustrated Edition, 1918. Octavo, half-chagrin binding with corners, gilded head, cracked joint, wear to head cape, clean interior, in amateur casing with preserved cover, all margins intact, XII-316 pages. First edition limited to 15 copies on laid paper, including the first seven not released to the market (this is copy number 7). Includes 4 leaves entirely handwritten by the author from April 1914 (manuscript of the preface) and 2 handwritten letters from the author to his friend Marcel, to whom he presented these 4 handwritten leaves as a gift. Charles Derennes (1882-1930) was a French writer born in Villeneuve-sur-Lot and died in Paris, son of Gustave Derennes, a historian and academy inspector, and Marthe Cassan. Educated at lycées in Bordeaux and Paris, he obtained a degree in letters from the Sorbonne in 1903, frequented literary salons including that of Anna de Noailles, and received the Archon-Desperouses prize in 1907. During World War I, he served as a military nurse in southwestern France.