Candide, or Optimism

New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1973. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. Neama, May. No. 351 of 1500 copies, quarto size, 141 pp., signed by May Neama, with LEC Monthly Newsletter and Announcement. A master of letters and wit, French writer Francois-Marie Arouet, best known by his pen name Voltaire, wrote on numerous subjects and in numerous forms, often advocating for civil liberties and criticising institutions such as the Catholic Church. "Candide" remains his best known work, a satire critical of the German philosopher Leibniz and his optimism.

This publication by the Limited Editions Club is illustrated by May Neama, whose watercolours, though colourful and playful, illuminate the tension in the story as Candide's colourful and optimistic world is shaken and ultimately dismantled as he experiences hardships in the world.

___DESCRIPTION: Quarter white leather with maroon cloth boards, gilt lettering and ornaments inside a white rectangle diagonally across the front and rear boards, gilt lettering and ornaments on the spine, frontispiece a watercolour by May Neama, title page in orange and black, full-page watercolours by Neama throughout, some chapters with monochrome tailpieces in burgundy; monotype Deepdene, Curtis white wove paper, quarto size (11.5" by 7.75"), pagination: [i-iv] v-xv [xvi] [1-2] 3-123 [124] [1 colophon], one of 1500 copies, this number 351, signed by May Neama on the colophon. With the announcement, one sheet, and the LEC Monthly Newsletter, one sheet folded once to make four pages, with a horizontal crease for mailing. In a glassine wrapper, housed in a slipcase covered in maroon cloth, with cream paper spine label with burgundy lettering and ornaments.

___CONDITION: A fine copy; the covers clean, the corners straight with no rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; clea, crisp, as new. The announcement and Monthly Newsletter are near fine, clean, without wear, with a few shallow creases to the bottom margin of the Newsletter, and a small stray mark at the bottom of the announcement. The glassine wrapper is near fine, clean, with a few small chips to the corners and tail of the spine, with light edge wear to the bottom edge. The slipcase is fine, strong and sturdy, clean with the hint of a stray mark or two, without wear.

___CITATION: LEC Bibliography no. 456.

___POSTAGE:  International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

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