Did you know? Marcel Proust, who was well known for his passion for railway signposts 🚂🗺️, was…

💡 Did you know? Marcel Proust, who was well known for his passion for railway signposts 🚂🗺️, was far from looking down on pulp fiction. And even though he realised, as early as 1907, that his work-in-progress would be a cross between a coming-of-age novel and a literary essay, he wanted his book to be read by as many people as possible. To achieve this, it had to be sold at an affordable price. 🫰🏻

In 1913, when Proust decided to publish the first volume of his novel at his own expense with @editionsgrasset, he turned down the 10-franc fee offered by the publisher: 🙅🏻‍♂️

🖋️ “As for my financial interests, they are less important to me than seeing my ideas take root in as many minds as possible that are capable of receiving them.” — letter to Grasset, c. 11 March 1913, quoted by @jeanmarc.quaranta, “Le Temps perdu”, @editions_bouquins, 2021.

“Swann's Way” will ultimately be sold for 3.50 francs – roughly 12 euros – of which only 1.50 francs will go to the author, who nevertheless paid 3,500 francs to publish it at his own expense. 💸💸

Robert Proust, Marcel’s brother and the beneficiary of his estate in 1922, also stated that it had been the author’s wish from the outset to publish his entire novel in a single volume. This is what the @quarto_livres collection achieved in 1999, and it is also the concept behind this beautiful Pléiade box set ✨ @la_nrf @editions_gallimard: a special 2022 edition (marking the centenary of Proust’s death), bringing together the seven volumes of “The Search” in two volumes, without any notes. 👌🏻

The cardboard frame is, of course, adorned with what Proust described as ‘the most beautiful painting in the world’, namely Johannes Vermeer’s world-famous ‘View of Delft’, on display at the @mauritshuis_museum in The Hague.

#CoffretPléiade #MarcelProust #proustagram #Vermeer #Grasset #Gallimard #NRF #RTP