BERTRAND Louis, known as Aloysius. Gaspard of the night. Fantasies in the manner of Rembrandt and Callot. Preceded by a notice by M. Sainte-Beuve. Angers, V. Pavie ; Paris, Labitte, 1842 ; in-8, [4]-xxii-324 pp. half dark green long-grained morocco with corners, smooth spine decorated throughout, untrimmed. A very rare first edition. A masterpiece of prose poetry, the collection was published confidentially after Aloysius Bertrand's death in 1841 by his friend David d'Angers with notes by Sainte-Beuve. It had a lasting influence on French poetry, inspiring Baudelaire and Mallarmé, and later the Surrealists. Spine browned but a very fine copy with full margins. Escoffier, 1494.