LAUTRÉAMONT. The Songs of Maldoror. Paris et Bruxelles, s.n., 1874. In-12, jansenist red morocco, interior lace, gilt edges on witnesses, cover, edged slipcase (H. Duhayon). First edition. A second-issue copy, as is almost always the case: there are scarcely more than half a dozen copies known to date from 1869. The edition was printed in 1869, but Albert Lacroix, its publisher, did not put it on sale for fear of censorship. Only a handful of copies were bound and given to the author, who died in the following weeks. The remaining stock was acquired by a Brussels bookseller, Jean-Baptiste Rozez, who put it on sale in 1874 under a title and cover reprinted at that date. The collection was not a success, however, and the print run was stored in Rozez's cellars until 1885, when Max Waller, editor of La Jeune Belgique, created an initial interest in Lautréamont. The first song was published separately in 1868. A very fine copy, impeccably bound by Henri Duhayon. Cover washed. Carteret, II, 503 - En français dans le texte, n°293.