DUMAS fils Alexandre. Monsieur Alphonse, Comédie en un acte. Paris, Michel Lévy, 1873; in-8, brown half-maroquin with corners, gilt fillet, spine decorated throughout with gilt fillets, gilt head, untrimmed. A copy of the proofs of the first edition, much corrected. The play evokes the fate of illegitimate children, a subject to which Dumas fils, who was recognised at a late age by his father, was very sensitive. The title was changed at the time of printing to Monsieur Alphonse, a play in three acts. The term "comedy" did not suit the author's mood, and he wrote an extensive preface to the book, more than 80 pages long, on the thorny subject of parenthood. The preface in particular contains countless corrections, repentances, additions, annotations and spoilers, making the author's tormented psyche palpable. A fine copy, bound by an excellent craftsman around 1900, whose name is illegible but ends in hilleux.