THE FAIRY DOLL (LA POUPEE). Translated from the French... by H. B. V. With an Introduction by Shane Leslie. London: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1925. Octavo, pp. [i-ix] x-xv [xvi-xx] [1] 2-153 [154-156: blank] [note: last leaf is a blank], title page printed in orange and black, original decorated boards with tan linen shelf back, spine panel stamped in gold, t.e.g., other edges untrimmed. First edition in English. Limited to 1000 numbered copies, this being number 494. Part of a series of eighteenth-century French romances published by Chapman & Hall in the 1920s. This work was first published in French in 1744, and, according to the translator's note, had not been reprinted in any language since 1782. "The exploration of the relationship between dolls and adult humans is usually done with more sinister intent. This concept in fiction goes back at least as far as LA POUPEE (1744) by Jean-Galli de Bibiena (?1710 - ?1780), where a doll becomes animated by an air elemental and agrees to help a young priest in his amorous adventures." - Clute and Grant (eds), The Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997), p. 281-82. Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 1-10. Barron (ed), Fantasy and Horror 2-7. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 161. Bleiler (1978), p. 23. Reginald 05713. Corner tips a bit worn, a very good, internally fine copy. (#80045).
Price: $25.00
"This edition is limited to / ONE THOUSAND COPIES / for England and America / ... on copyright page.