Literature

Pushing open the doors of the KOEGUI bookshop in Bayonne means seeing over two centuries of literature lined up on the shelves: from the first texts by Stendhal to the latest publications by Michel Houellebecq, including naturalists and surrealists. This collection brings together all our literary stock, in original editions and most often on large paper, from the 18th century to today.

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Literature is anything but just another section at the KOEGUI bookstore; it has been the founding specialty of the house since its opening in Bayonne in 2011.

This choice was made out of taste: we focus the majority of our acquisitions on first editions of French literature, with a marked preference for large-paper printings and signed bindings, in order to offer our customers the most beautiful texts in the most exquisite settings.

This page gathers the entire collection, from the 19th to the 21st century: 19th-century authors and their contemporaries[link to: 19th-century literature], the avant-garde and great voices of the 20th century[link to: 20th-century literature], poetry[link to: poetry].

Among the most beautiful pieces, our literature collection includes a very fine copy of the first edition of Victor Hugo's Marion de Lorme (Eugène Renduel, 1831), with a Noulhac signed binding; also the first edition of Maupassant's Pierre et Jean (Ollendorff, 1888) on large paper, enriched with original ink and watercolor compositions; the first edition of André Malraux's La Tentation de l'Occident (Grasset, 1926), printed and numbered on Japan paper, in a Carine Vilaine signed binding; and finally the first edition of Michel Houellebecq's La possibilité d’une île (Fayard, 2005), one of the copies from the "tirage hors commerce" (not for sale) edition.

Each piece is chosen according to precise selection criteria. It is this top-tier literature that we offer at the KOEGUI bookstore, a member of SLAM and LILA.

FAQ
  • Does this collection cover only the 19th and 20th centuries?
    No. It brings together the entire literature collection, from the 19th century to contemporary production. To refine by period, the 19th-century Literature and 20th-century Literature collections allow for a targeted search.
  • Do you offer foreign literature?
    Of course! Although our collection mainly consists of French literature, we offer a wide selection of foreign literary works translated into French, such as the original French edition of James Joyce's Ulysses (La Maison des Amis des Livres, 1929), one of 875 copies on Alfa vergé paper of the translation revised by Valery Larbaud.
  • How do you choose the books for this collection?
    By taste as much as by method: verified first edition, large paper sought after primarily, signed binding when available. Each piece is individually examined before cataloging.