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No.97

Agns Letestu
toiLe of the PAris oPerA BALLet

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The Paris Opera BALLET

Life & Luxury in 18th-Century PARIS

GALLIMARDs Centennial

Practically synonymous with the literary greats of the 20th century,

Editions Gallimard
is celebrating its centennial this year. France magazine revisits how this once amateurish start-uP became a Publishing Powerhouse with a mystique that endures to this day.

B y J u l i e n R ac i n e

In 1911, La Nouvelle Revue Franaise tapped Gaston Gallimard, then a young dilettante, to launch its new publishing venture.
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Gaston Gallimard 19111976

Claude Gallimard 19761988

Antoine Gallimard 1988present

this year, but like a coquettish old lady, its fudging its age a bit. Frances greatest publishing adventure actually got its start in 1908 with the launch of the literary journal la nouvelle revue Franaise (nrF), whose founders included authors andr gide and Jean schlumberger as
well as playwright Jacques copeau. three years later, the nrF started a small book-publishing operation, entrusting the new activity to the 30-year-old gaston gallimard. under his stewardship and later that of his son and grandson, it has reigned as one of the most influential houses in the world, with more nobel and goncourt Prize winners than any other French publisher. France is honoring gallimards place in French culture by declaring its centennial an official national celebration, with commemorations scheduled throughout the year.
back in 1911, gaston gallimard certainly did not seem

gallimard is Fting its 100th birthday

Still a family business, Gallimard has been located at 5 rue Sbastien-Bottin since 1929. The street is slated to become rue Gaston Gallimard later this year.

destined for greatness. he had grown up in an affluent home surrounded by rare books and impressionist paintings collected by his father, who led a life of leisure and hobnobbed with the likes of Pierreauguste renoir. as a young man, gallimard spent his evenings at the theater and generally lived the life of a dandyindeed, he had little the in common with gide and schlumberger, whose Early Protestant upbringing was as strict and sober as gallimards was hedonistic. but the fledgling years nrF was more a labor of love than an entrepreIn the decades leading neurial endeavor, and gallimards passion for up to WWII, Gaston Gallimard literature was enough to get him the job. turned a modest literary as it turned out, he was a natural. in short venture into a prestigious order, this nonchalant, directionless young publishing empire. At right, a few highlights: man transformed himself into a publisher with
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remarkable flair. at once charming and merciless, wily and direct, jovial and icy, generous and frugal, he instinctively knew how to deal with writersnotoriously complicated and often unreliable people. he became the nrFs indispensable go-to man, fiercely negotiating the terms of every writers contract from fees to deadlines to press runswhile at the same time proving to be an excellent reader of manuscripts. the first books published by les editions de la nouvelle revue Franaise were Paul claudels lotage and gides isabelle, with other distinguished literary talents soon following suit. it was an impressive beginning, but gallimard never forgave himself for failing to snap up a young unknown who frequented high society

and described the impulses of the human soul in a completely new way: marcel Proust. Proust had in fact wanted to be published by the nrF, but gide and schlumberger misjudged his work. its full of duchesses, its not for us, sniffed gide, although apparently it was schlumberger who was mostly responsible for this enormous blunder. (gallimard later managed bring Proust into the nrF fold, publishing a lombre des jeunes filles en fleur, which won the Prix goncourt in 1919.) less famous than gide, schlumberger, like his friend, belonged to the haute bourgeoisie (the family remains prominent in the oil industry and is associated with houstons menil Foundation). the two men imposed a certain Protestant rigoran aversion to

flashiness combined with high moral standardsthat still characterizes the house. it was schlumberger, in fact, who designed the elegantly restrained nrF logo. as Franois nourissier writes in Un sicle de nrF, the enterprise was very dogmatic in those early years, a combination of classic style and moral audacity, a way of considering the novel as the ultimate weapon. when wwi broke out, gaston gallimard worked all his connections and managed to get himself declared unfit for service. in his 1988 biography, Pierre assouline says that he simply preferred to be a living coward than a dead hero. it was agreed to suspend business operations, and in 1917, gallimard traveled to new york with the troupe du vieux-colombier

Gides Isabelle and Claudels LOtage, the rst two books published by Gallimard.

Eloges (1911) by Alexis Lger, the future SaintJohn Perse, was Gallimards rst book of poetry.

The famous white cover, designed in 1911 and still used on the Blanche collection.

A selection of magazine titles launched by Gallimard in the late 1920s.

The prestigious La Pliade collection, acquired by Gallimard in 1932.

A poster for Le Locataire (1934) by Georges Simenon, creator of Maigret.

Gone with the Wind by Pulitzer Prize winner Margaret Mitchell, published in translation in 1939.

thE laUrEatEs
Editions Gallimard is renowned for the impressive number of its writers who have won literary prizes. Thirty-five have snagged the prestigious Prix Goncourt, which rewards the best and most imaginative prose work of the year, while a similar number both French and internationalhave gone on to become Nobel Prize laureates. Left to right: a few of the many eminent Goncourt and Nobel Prize winners and their works.

marcel Proust

andr malrauX

simone de beauvoir

albert camus

Jean-Paul sartre

orhan Pamuk

J. m. g. le clzio

marie ndiaye

mario vargas llosa

prix Goncourt 1919

prix Goncourt 1933

prix Goncourt 1954

nobel prize 1957

nobel prize 1964

nobel prize 2006

nobel prize 2008

prix Goncourt 2009

nobel prize 2010

the theater company created by Jacques copeau. there he met writer henri-Pierre roch, who would later pen Jules et Jim and les deux anglaises et le continent, both made into films by Franois truffaut. extremely well-connected in the migr arts community, roch had founded the avant-garde review blind man. gallimard was fascinated by this experience with american publishing and took note of its more direct managerial style. the nrF re-opened its doors in 1919, with editorial leadership of the journal turned over to the demanding, subtle and exquisitely analytical Jacques rivire, a highly respected writer and man of letters who had spent much of the war interned in german camps. gallimard, known familiarly as gaston, took over the management side of both the journal and the publishing house, which became a separate company renamed librairie gallimard (later changed to editions gallimard). at this point the gallimard family obtained a majority interest in the company. nevertheless, gallimard had to take into account rivires
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selections for the journal. this arrangement worked smoothly, however, as the two men got along quite well; gallimard especially appreciated rivires keen eye for new talent. more complicated were their relationships with the magazines founders. while rivire was in favor of an exclusively literary review, gide and especially schlumberger felt it was important to maintain a political stance hostile to germany, one that had occasionally shown up in nrF articles before the war. schlumberger, whose family hailed from war-torn alsace, was particularly adamant that continued vigilance was necessary. but in the end, it was rivires vision that prevailed.

thE pUblishErs stylE was a mix oF intimidation, GracioUsnEss and patErnalism.

as it had from the beginning, the monthly journal continued to complement the book business, frequently featuring contributions by authors such as malraux, montherlant and giono, whose books were published by competitors. gaston would then persuade them to defect. when absolutely necessary, he would woo them with his checkbook, but he was a noted penny pincher. clines financial disputes with the publisher were famousonce, he reputedly called gallimard un sacr vieux coffre-fort (a damn old vault). gaston gallimards relations with a less illustrious writer raymond gurin, who was short-listed for the Prix goncourt in 1941also reflect the publishers style: a mix of intimidation, graciousness and paternalism. gallimard initially rejected gurins Quand vient la fin but reversed his decision in 1941 upon learning that gurin was a prisoner of war in germany. later, when gallimard published gurins lapprenti, the irascible author called him an odious rascal because of the terms of their agreement (gastons reply: what gives you the right

to take this vulgar, rude tone?) yet in 1957, when the French revenue service sent gurin a very large bill for back taxes, he turned to his publisher for help, and gallimard immediately advanced him the money.

foremost dedicated to a classic use of language and did not see itself as revolutionary. yet while it avoided the literary fringes, it remained open-minded, extolling the dada movement and publishing surrealist writers aragon and breton. literature and the gallimard catalogue must be interchangeable, proclaimed gaston, who published all the major authors of the 1920s and 30s: saintJohn Perse, Paul valry, georges duhamel, roger martin du gard,
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ditions gallimard was First and

marcel aym, Jean giraudoux, sUccEss Pierre drieu la rochelle, antoine de saint-exupry. ForallowEd eign authors also found a home Gaston to here: dos Passos, hemingway, Faulkner, steinbeck, caldwell, pUblish Fitzgerald, nabokov. valuwritErs hE able guidance on anglo-american literature was provided by admirEd valry larbaud, who convinced bUt who gallimard to publish whitman and Joyce (larbaud contributed woUld likEly to the translation of Ulysses in 1937). not sEll during that period, galliwEll EnoUGh mard also shrewdly diversified the company, branching into to makE childrens books, biographies, a proFit. illustrated works and essays; launching new reviews on music, film and other topics; and bringing out weekly magazines designed for the general public (marianne, voil, dtective). in 1932, he scored perhaps his most prestigious coup, acquiring the legendary Pliade library, which packages the classics of world literature in handsome volumes printed on bible paper and bound in supple leather with gold lettering. then came the german occupation, dividing the company. there are three powers in France: the communist Party, the banks and the nrF, the new german ambassador, otto abetz, reputedly declared. between december 1940 and June 1943, the journal was edited by the collaborationist

writer drieu la rochelle, while in the neighboring office, Jean Paulhanwho had succeeded rivire after his untimely death in 1925secretly coordinated a literary and intellectual resistance. despite german censorship and paper rationing, the house managed to publish maurice blanchots thomas lobscur, saint-exuprys pilote de guerre and sartres lEtre et le nant. gaston carefully navigated the situation without unduly compromising himself. this delicate maneuvering avoided post-liberation problems and purges, although like all publications that had continued to print during the occupation, the journal was not allowed to reappear afterward under the same name (when it did come out again in 1953 , it bore the title nouvelle nouvelle revue Franaise but reverted to its original name a few years later). at the same time, camus and other resistance writers testified that gallimard had helped them during the war years and signed with the publisher afterward. gaston was determined to recapture the houses former dynamism. in 1945, he introduced the srie noire collection directed by marcel duhamel; Peter cheyneys poison ivy was the first of more than 2,600 thrillers and detective novels to appear with the emblematic black and yellow cover. more imprints would follow, eventually expanding the companys reach into contemporary topics (under Pierre lazareff, head of a group of popular daily papers), art books (under writer andr malraux) and other areas. gastons son claude, who had been a prisoner in german camps during wwii, played an increasingly important role in the family business, notably steering gallimards diversification into social sciences. historian Pierre nora, one of the most respected intellectuals in France, launched imprints on such subjects as history, sociology, ethnology and psychoanalysis, making nonfiction as important to the house as literature. meanwhile, editions gallimard continued to attract top literary

talents, French and foreign, and rack up prizes. the houses success allowed gaston to publish writers he admired but whose work would likely not sell, at least not well enough to make a profit. For him, such sacrifices were simply a duty of sorts, something that came with the territory. gaston gallimard passed away in 1975, at age 94it is said that he kept an eye on his beloved house right up until the end. claude then took over, and in 1988 was succeeded by antoine, gastons grandson.
today gallimard boasts a

celebrating

thE centennial
Appropriately for a publishing house, nearly 20 books honoring Gallimard are slated for publication during this anniversary year, from coffee-table tomes to collections of correspondence between Gaston Gallimard and Jean Giono, Andr Gide and Jean Paulhan. The Bibliothque Nationale de France will host Gallimard: un sicle ddition, featuring an outstanding selection of manuscripts, first editions, correspondence and photographs (through July 3; bnf.fr), and Arte has produced a special documentary, Le Roi Lire. Tributes will be evident at major literary festivals throughout the world, and from April through June, the SaintGermain-des-Prs metro stop will devote its display cases to the most famous publishing house in its neighborhood. In a nod to the future, Gallimard is bringing out its first book designed especially for the iPad.

a banQUE cEntralE
PhiliPPe SollerS2 FVrier 2011, le NoUVel oBSerVATeUr

Les Editions Gallimard sont ce lieu, unique au monde, o les grands crivains morts sont plus vivants que jamais. Avec un peu dimagination, on les rencontre ici tous les jours. Ce matin, par exemple, Gide est concentr, Claudel furieux, Malraux et Aragon agits, Sartre grognon, Camus soucieux, Paulhan vasif, mais Queneau rit de son rire chevalin clbre. Majestueux, Gaston passe en dandy jardinier. Valry virevolte, Cioran samuse, Bataille essaie de se dbarrasser de Blanchot, Artaud murmure des exorcismes, Genet vient chercher de largent liquide. Le duc de Saint-Simon est trs surpris de ses huit volumes en Pliade impeccablement prsents, et dtre,

en mme temps que Retz ou Svign, considr comme un crivain franais . Sade apprcie ses lgantes gravures pornographiques du XVIIIe sicle, Voltaire sourit en caressant les treize volumes de sa Correspondance. Montaigne, Pascal, Bossuet, Molire, La Fontaine, Diderot, Rousseau, Chateaubriand, Balzac, Stendhal, Flaubert, Lautramont, Rimbaud, Mallarm, Proust, Breton, Cline passent en coup de vent dans les arbres. Peu importe quils se dtestent ou signorent les uns les autres, ils volent, cest lessentiel. Au bout dun couloir, un petit bureau, qui na lair de rien, sappelle lInfini . Cest un observatoirelaboratoire discret o se poursuivent

certaines expriences davenir (la revue lInfini vient de publier son 113e numro). L, les livres sentassent en dsordre, mais je sais o chacun se trouve. Cent ans, ce nest pas bien long, puisque jai sur ma table les Grecs, les Latins, les Chinois, la Bible. Plein dauteurs trangers veillent aussi avec moi. Avec la nuit, la banque centrale de la littrature , paquebot romanesque gant, largue ses amarres et flotte, travers les sicles, sur des heures liquides. A son poste de commandement amiral, Antoine, lheureux propritaire des lieux, a dailleurs, sur sa chemine, une maquette de bateau voile. Philippe Sollers

Philippe Sollerss first work published by Gallimard was Femmes (1983); he now directs the journal LInfini for the publishing house. This account originally appeared in the February 2, 2011, edition of Le Nouvel Observateur. More authors recollections of Editions Gallimard are featured on http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/; searchword Gallimard.

catalogue of more than 24,000 titles, 1,300 employees and, in good years, a turnover of some 300 million. seventy of the 230 collections launched during the past century are still active. all in all, the publishing house is still thriving, even if it no longer wields the intellectual authority it once did. of course, in this it is not alone: the seductiveness of images has eclipsed the power of books throughout the world, with literature losing ground each day. still, antoine gallimard says he is not worried about the future of print. in a recent interview with France 24, he quipped, when i want to give a friend a nice gift, i dont see myself giving him a book on a usb key! that said, he could if he wanted togallimard has been actively involved in electronic publishing for several years now. although he wasnt groomed for the job, gastons grandson has surprised everyone with his clear-sightedness and business sense. described as shy, occasionally unpredictable and rather taciturn, he is known to delegate well yet keep a discreet eye on partners and subsidiaries (denol, Pol, la table ronde). he judges employees solely on their performance and demands certain sacrificesthings havent changed much since the days when rivire and Paulhan complained of being underpaidbut he applies the same standards to himself, flying coach and getting around Paris on a moped. and while major literary coups are not the houses style, antoine has nonetheless sniffed out successes such as Jonathan littells les bienveillantes, published nobel Prize laureate le clzio and beat out other French publishers for the rights to the harry Potter series. in his years at the helm, antoine has managed to freshen up the old lady without sacrificing her prestige or detracting from her legendary mystique. the famous white cover with the thin red rules continues to elicit fascination and longingevery year, the literary division receives 5,000 to 7,000 manuscripts, of which fewer than 10 are chosen for publication. entering gallimard is like entering the kingdom of heaven, says writer Franoise de maulde, who has worked there for many years. this

publishing house still arouses both admiration and envy. indeed, the building at 5 rue sbastien-bottin has been a mythic address for writers since the company moved there in 1929. but once authors actually cross the threshold of the holy of holies, they are sometimes disappointed. gallimard doesnt have a reputation for babying its writers, and its contracts are rarely lavish thriftiness just seems to be in its dna. besides, why be extravagant when writers are beating down your door? to outsiders, gallimard can seem like something straight out of balzac, with its stubborn strength, its mysterious, impenetrable power and the larger-than-life figures who work there: Philippe sollers, Patrick modiano, richard millet. even the building on rue sbastien-bottin is a throwback to another age, a labyrinth of hallways, stairways and mezzanines that seems governed by an arcane codeinsiders will tell you that the location of each office conforms to a secret symbolic order. getting an office on the second floor next to antoine, for example, might appear to be a promotion, but then again, not necessarily. and the old Protestant values of discretion and confidentiality are still the cornerstones of gallimards corporate culture. the identity of the editorial board members is not public knowledge, for example, and any mention of how editorial decisions are made or of the companys inner workings is severely frowned upon. in a France obsessed by decline and the disappearance of traditions, gallimard stands for resistance and cultural uniqueness, the rejection of inevitability. this peerless publisher represents something very French: a combination of immutable rituals and adaptability, a reconciliation of the past and modernity that could be called a tradition of newness.
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