Georges SIMENON. - Lot 214

Georges SIMENON. Pedigree. Paris, Presses de la Cité, 1948, in-8 bound half-basane, ribbed spine, double title page, illustrated dust jacket. Numbered first edition complete with dust jacket, one of 200 numbered copies on Alfama vellum, the only numbered paper (no. 9). On publication of this autobiographical work, Georges Simenon faced three libel suits from former friends who thought they recognized themselves in certain characters. The three plaintiffs were successful, and Simenon was ordered to pay substantial damages to the individuals concerned and to withdraw the published books from the market. In 1952, he worked on a redacted version of the offending passages and published a new edition in December.