Le Théâtre
First edition with Jules Romains's masterpiece Knock.
A very fine copy printed on large paper in publisher's wrappers, as issued.
6 volumes in-4 (220 x 170 mm) and 1 volume in-12 (190 x 120 mm). Publisher’s original wrappers of the period.
Romains, Jules. Knock or The Triumph of Medicine. The Theatre of Jules Romains.
Paris, éditions de la Nouvelle revue Française, 1924-1931. Gallimard, 1935.
First edition of Jules Romains' theatre works, including his masterpiece Knock or The Triumph of Medicine, which is in line with the Molière tradition.
One of the copies printed on large paper, part of the deluxe edition print run.
One of 108 deluxe copies on pure rag laid Lafuma-Navarre paper and one of 100 reserved for bibliophiles of the Nouvelle Revue Française, for Volume I.
One of 109 deluxe copies in quarto tellière on pure rag laid Lafuma Navarre paper and one of 100 reserved for bibliophiles of the Nouvelle Revue Française, for volumes II to VI.
One of 50 copies on pure rag vellum from the Lafuma-Navarre papermills and one of 30 numbered copies, for Volume VII.
“A three-act play, this comedy goes beyond farce; the satire is so dark and virulent that it gives way to the anxiety of the modern world. Yet, at the start, there is nothing out of the ordinary. Dr. Parpalaid sells a worthless practice to Knock. With the help of a free consultation, Knock begins to land several clients, who are quickly convinced of their illness. Masterfully, Knock puts nearly the entire town to bed, and his reputation spreads throughout the country.
The smiles and laughter at the beginning of the play quickly disappear, giving way to a kind of discomfort as the mechanics of human credulity are revealed and the exploitation by a skillful charlatan becomes evident. This general hoax in the name of science is something to fear. None of those who were deceived allow themselves to criticize or revolt; it is the complete domestication of the most naïve by the most industrious.” (Dictionary of Works).
In Knock, Jules Romains returns to the tradition of Molière. He continues in the line of The Doctor in Spite of Himself and The Imaginary Invalid.
“ Born on August 26, 1885, in Saint-Julien Chapteuil, Louis Farigoule, who would adopt the pseudonym Jules Romains in 1902, established himself at a young age as a poet with The Soul of Men.
The Unanimous Life launches a vast program of poems, novels, and plays which made Jules Romains one of the most complete writers of his time. Jules Romains wrote Knock in three weeks.
After Jouvet obtained permission to read the manuscript, he persuaded Jules Romains to let him stage the play.
The rest is history: tremendous success at the Comédie des Champs-Elysées on the evening of December 14, 1923, 1,500 performances by Jouvet himself, three film adaptations. Knock has toured the world and the sales have easily exceeded the millions…
Both a satire of doctors and patients, a cynical questioning of the exploitation of the physiological fear of death, Knock has stood for sixty years as a model of satirical comedy denouncing all forms of imposture, and has secured Jules Romains a place of honor in the tradition of Molière” (Olivier, Rony, En français dans le texte, no. 350).
Precious copy, one of the examples printed on large paper, part of the deluxe edition, and one of those reserved for the bibliophiles of the Nouvelle Revue Française, preserved in the original publisher’s wrappers, as issued.
