The rare first French translation of Tolstoy’s masterpiece, widely regarded as not only a classic of Russian literature but also one of the world’s greatest novels. The translation was printed in St. Petersburg and subsequently distributed by Hachette in Paris; only 500 copies were sent to Paris for distribution. Ivan Tourgueniev was instrumental in publicising the work in the French literary world, sending copies to various influential critics - including Gustave Flaubert, who praised the novel.
Tolstoy’s work was translated by Princess Irene Ivanovna Paskevitch (1835-1925, born Vorontsov-Dachkov), wife of the Russian military officer Count Fedor Ivanovna Paskevitch (1823-1903), Serene Prince of Warsaw. It was from this French translation that Clara Bell rendered the first American translation of War and Peace (1886).
Provenance: From the distinguished library of Pierre Bergé (1930-2017), Paris fashion entrepreneur, partner of Yves Saint Laurent, and auctioneer; from his private collection with his ex libris label on the front pastedown of each volume; sale, Paris, Pierre Bergé & Associés, 11/09/2016, lot 220, not sold; sale, Paris, Sotheby’s, 28/10/2024, lot 131 along with the first Russian edition.
Paperstock browned, some occasional scattered spotting to blank fore-margins; only light shelf wear to extremities, spines faded, discreet repair to rear joint of Vol. 1, new endpapers.
Rare. OCLC lists copies at Harvard and Indiana only in North America, along with three copies in France (inc. BnF) and two in Germany.
Vicaire, VII, 850 (Vicaire wrongly describes the 1885 edition as being the original French translation); Boutchik, Bibliographie des œuvres littéraires russes traduites en français, p. 133; BnF, Léon Tolstoï, Exposition organisée pour le cinquantenaire de sa mort, 1960, n° 80.
