Five rare books and associated ephemera (all published in French) from the private library of Maurice de Gandillac, 1930–1966. Item #109

Maritain, Jacques: Éléments de Philosophie (I): Introduction Générale a la Philosophie, Paris: Pierre Téqui, Libraire-Éditeur, 1930. Reprint of the original 1920 edition. Original wrappers. Minor smudging and toning to wrappers and slight creasing to corners and faint staining to spine; minor toning to leaves. Portions uncut. Very good. Signed and inscribed by Jacques Maritain to Maurice de Gandillac on half-title page: “To Maurice de Gandillac / With affection / Jacques Maritain.” Volume 1.

Maritain, Jacques: De la Philosophie Chrétienne, Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1933. First edition. Original wrappers. Small red ink spot to foot of front wrapper; minor toning to leaves. Very good. Signed and inscribed by Jacques Maritain to Maurice de Gandillac on the front free endpaper: “To Maurice de Gandillac / Very affectionately / Jacques Maritain.”

Maritain, Jacques: Science et Sagesse, Paris: Éditions Labergerie, 1935. Original edition without large paper announcement. Original wrappers. Slight creasing to wrapper edges with chipping to blue wrappers along head and foot of spine; faint sunning and smudging to spine; leaves generally bright; very good. Signed and inscribed by Jacques Maritain to Maurice de Gandillac on half-title page: “To Maurice de Gandillac / Very affectionately / Jacques Maritain.” Enclosed is a 4-page prospectus presenting “La Vie Donnée: Poémes de Raїssa Maritain,” a collection of poems by Raїssa Maritain, published the same year by the same publisher. The prospectus is horizontally folded with minor toning.

Maritain, Jacques and Raїssa Maritain: Situation de la Poésie, Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1938. Original edition without large paper announcement. Original wrappers. Minor rubbing and creasing to spine with some spotting to spine and rear wrapper; some toning to leaves. Uncut. Very good. Signed and inscribed by both Jacques Maritain and Raїssa Maritain, on front free endpaper: “To Maurice de Gandillac / Affectionate memory of / Jacques and Raїssa Maritain.”

Maritain, Jacques: Le Paysan de la Garonne, Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1966. Original edition without large paper announcement. Original wrappers. Minor toning and smudging to wrappers with slight cock to spine; pages bright. Very good. Signed and inscribed by Jacques Maritain to Maurice de Gandillac on half-title page: “To Maurice de Gandillac / With the faithful friendship of / Jacques Maritain.”

Please see the pictures of the foregoing items for additional information, and feel free to request additional information and pictures regarding the Jacques Maritain and Maurice de Gandillac Collection. Each item in the collection was published in French.

A unique collection of books and associated ephemera presented by Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) and his wife, Raїssa Maritain (1883–1960), to Maurice de Gandillac. Jacques Maritain was an influential Catholic philosopher whose work helped generate a modern revival of Thomism and Aristotelianism. Maritain was a prolific author, publishing over 60 books, and his works and thought were highly influential throughout Europe and the United States. Maritain was instrumental in the development and drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and his religious and philosophical thought profoundly influenced Pope Paul VI, to whom Maritain had acted as friend and mentor. Maritain’s projects spanned many fields, including philosophy, religion, politics, aesthetics, and the philosophy of science, and among his enduring legacies is his promotion of integral humanism—a Christian humanism capable of giving expression to man’s spiritual character and, unlike secular humanism, uniting rather than dividing the whole of human experience. Jacques Maritain studied at the Sorbonne and it was there that he met Raїssa Oumançoff, a Russian Jewish émigré, whom he would marry in 1904. Raїssa was a successful poet and noted mystic who would partner with her husband in a lifelong quest for the truth. Prior to their marriage, in 1901, Jacques and Raїssa had joined in a suicide pact after becoming disillusioned with scientism (i.e., the materialist view that truth only consists in what can be empirically verified in accordance with the scientific method) and vowed to end their lives if they could not discover a deeper meaning to life within the year. The couple was spared death when they encountered the possibility of the absolute in the teachings of famed French philosopher Henri Bergson at the Collège de France. Jacques and Raїssa converted to Catholicism in 1906 and their studies thereafter led them to the works of Aquinas, Aristotle, and the neo-Thomists and Aristotelians. Jacques Maritain would become a lecturer at several institutions in France and the United States, including Columbia University, the University of Chicago, the University of Notre Dame, and Princeton University. From 1945 to 1948, he served as the French ambassador to the Holy See. Jacques and Raїssa maintained friendly and professional connections with esteemed French philosopher Maurice de Gandillac (1906–2006), who taught the history of Medieval and Renaissance philosophy at the Sorbonne. Gandillac wrote his thesis under the venerated Thomist Étienne Gilson and would go on to mentor and supervise the doctoral dissertations of a number of celebrated French academics, including Louis Althusser, Jean-François Lyotard, Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Derrida. This collection of rare books and associated ephemera is from Gandillac’s private library and consists of works inscribed to Gandillac by Jacques and Raїssa Maritain, including works of philosophy, religion, and aesthetics as well as a prospectus for a collection of poems by Raїssa. A truly unique collection of works that were passed from and between a few of the most influential and respected minds of the twentieth century—thinkers who works and thought continue to influence our modern world.

Price: $5,500.00