Biographical overview
1998: Jean-Pierre Selz (1,600 volumes of twentieth-century French publications collected by Léopold Léon Steindecker, known by the pseudonym Léon Pierre-Quint)
The collection was assembled by Léopold Léon Steindecker (Paris 1895–1958), who wrote under the pseudonym Léon Pierre-Quint.
A refined intellectual, a most acute literary critic, and a discoverer of talent, Léon Pierre-Quint worked tirelessly, promoting cultural ideas and initiatives.
He directed Éditions du Sagittaire, profoundly renewing the publishing house and relaunching it within the European publishing landscape. Among his friendships, that with Marcel Proust deserves particular mention; he wrote an early and brilliant biography of him.
The donation
The donation was made in 1998 through his nephew, Jean-Pierre Selz, and was formally presented on 27 October 1998 at a meeting organised at the French Consulate, courtesy of Honorary Consul Frédéric Bouilleux.
Extent and composition
The Selz Collection comprises approximately 1,600 volumes and includes significant works of twentieth-century French literature, ranging from the Surrealist period to the most radical literary avant-garde movements. It contains rare editions of works by Proust, Gide, Malraux, Aragon, Éluard, Montherlant, and others.
Inventories and catalogues
The volumes in the collection are described in the Library’s general catalogues and in the online catalogue.