1946 Signed Limited Edition – The Graveyard by the Sea by Paul Valéry
Author: Paul Valéry. Translated by C. Day-Lewis.
Title: The Graveyard by the Sea.
Publisher: London, Martin Secker & Warburg, 1946.
Printer: Officina Bodoni, Verona.
Language: Text in English and French (bilingual edition).
Size: 9 x 6 inches.
Pages: 19 pages.
Binding: Attractive and exquisite fine binding by Bayntun (Rivière), Bath, England. Full navy blue polished calf with a rich tan onlay panel on the front board lettered in gilt, framed with ornate gilt tooling and decorative corner flourishes. Gilt ruling to spine and boards, gilt dentelles (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Upper edge gilt.
Content: Fine and clean condition throughout, printed on luxurious hand-made paper by Fratelli Magnani of Pescia. This copy is numbered 224 of 500, each signed by C. Day-Lewis on the limitation page. Free of markings save for the discreet bookplate of David Enderton Johnson on the front pastedown. The text is presented in elegant typography, printed in red and black, with the English translation facing the original French (Le Cimetière Marin).
Estimate: (USD 750–950).
The book: A magnificent signed limited edition of Paul Valéry’s Le Cimetière Marin (The Graveyard by the Sea), printed in 1946 by the legendary Hans Mardersteig at the Officina Bodoni, one of the most celebrated private presses of the 20th century. This edition—limited to 500 copies—embodies the typographical refinement and harmonious design that made Mardersteig’s work so revered.
C. Day-Lewis’s English translation stands opposite Valéry’s French text, forming a visual and linguistic dialogue across pages of exceptional craftsmanship. The present copy, bound by Bayntun (Rivière) in sumptuous full polished calf, is a superb example of English fine binding artistry, combining precision and restraint with neoclassical elegance.
The author: Paul Valéry (1871–1945) was one of France’s most influential Symbolist poets and thinkers. His Cimetière Marin, inspired by the sea and the cemetery of Sète—his birthplace—explores the tension between mortality and eternity through exquisite lyrical precision. Valéry’s mastery of form and intellectual depth earned him a place in the Académie Française and lasting recognition as one of modernism’s defining voices.
The translator: C. Day-Lewis (1904–1972), Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, was a leading figure of the Auden generation and an accomplished translator and novelist (writing detective fiction under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake). His elegant translation of Valéry’s masterpiece captures both its meditative stillness and its philosophical brilliance.
The binder: Bayntun (Rivière) of Bath, England, is synonymous with the finest English hand-binding traditions. Known for their exacting craftsmanship and graceful design, Bayntun Rivière bindings are treasured by collectors for their luxurious materials, gilt tooling, and longevity—hallmarks fully realized in this superb presentation of Valéry’s immortal poem.