Antar: Drame en cinq actes.

Paris: Librairie Théatrale,, 1904 & 1910. Arab nationalism in Orientalist Paris First edition, first printing, presentation copy, affectionately inscribed to "Henri" with a poem in French on the half-title. Antar is a play about the heroic Arab knight and poet 'Antarah ibn Shaddad (525-608 CE), written by the Lebanese-born poet and Arab nationalist Chékri Ganem (1861-1929). The book is accompanied by a folding menu and an invitation for an Orientalist theatre performance of Antar and dinner on 13 May 1904. The performance consisted of fragments, as Antar was not finished until 1910. Born in Beirut, Ganem was an opponent of the Ottoman Empire and a strong supporter of Arab nationalism. He started to write this, his most famous work, in 1895. Antarah ibn Shaddad, a pre-Islamic Arab knight and poet, is famous for his adventurous life. He was born in Najd to an Ethiopian woman named Zabuba. His poetry and adventures are a mixture of chivalry, heroism, and unfulfilled love for his cousin 'Ablah. For Ganem, he personified the Arab spirit fighting for freedom. It is likely the inscription on the half-title was dedicated to the French actor Henri Desfontaines (1876-1931). Desfontaines played the role of Zobeir in the 1910 premiere of Antar and the starring role in the film adaptation of the play two years later. Chékri Ganem directed the movie. Together, 3 items. Menu with semicircular illustration of desert camp fire scene by Dinet; invitation with vignette of male head in sanguine. Octavo (178 x 116 mm). Contemporary quarter sheep, spine gilt-lettered direct, marbled boards and endpapers, edges sprinkled brown. With bifold menu and invitation (194 x 273 mm). Binding a little rubbed and judiciously refurbished, half-title with soft creases from old folds, minor marginal toning throughout; invitation evenly toned. A very good collection.