Copy of Abbé Gaurier with dispatch from Count Russell - Lot 553

Copy of Abbé Gaurier with dispatch from Count Russell RUSSELL-KILLOUGH (Henry Patrice Marie) Count Souvenirs of a Montagnard (1858-1888). Pau, Vignancour, 1888. Small in-8: XX, 508pp. Autograph letter from Count Russell to Abbé Gaurier. Publisher's red percaline boards, title in black on front board, small central tear to one spine. In ½ red morocco slipcase, gilt title and "Exemplaire de Ch. L. Gaurier" on smooth spine. A fine copy in its publisher's binding, in a custom-made case for this exceptional work. Undisputed masterpiece of Pyreneanism. Second edition, but the first in print and considered the first by the author (he calls the 1908 edition the "second edition") and "in our opinion the best version of the text", says Labarère. It is uncommon and highly sought-after. Text revised, enlarged and re-ordered. The climbs are no longer in chronological (or approximately chronological) order, as in the 1878 edition, but grouped by massif. There are 2 types of binding, differing mainly in the lettering and colors of each (Labarère 1360)(Labarère Henry Russell 43)(Perret 3825).