Roland Dorgelès Les Croix de Bois (Wooden Crosses) 1931 Japan 1st Ed Slipcase Yamana Ayao

[PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS]
- Author: Roland Dorgelès (1885–1973)
- Title: 戦争の溺息 (Sensō no Tameiki / Sighs of War)
- Original title: Les Croix de bois (Wooden Crosses), Paris: Albin Michel, 1919
- Translator: Yamauchi Yoshio (山内義雄)
- Binding design: Yamana Ayao (山名文夫)
- Publisher: Shinchōsha (新潮社), Tokyo — founded by Satō Giryō
- Year Published: December 23, 1931 (Shōwa 6) — First Edition, First Printing
- Translator’s Preface dated: February 27, 1931
- Language: Japanese
- Format: Hardcover with original slipcase (函), metal corner pieces
- Size: 19 × 13 cm, 416 pages

[OVERVIEW]

Before the war, Roland Dorgelès was an unknown in Montmartre, drinking at Le Lapin Agile with Francis Carco and Pierre Mac Orlan. He went to the front. He came back and wrote Les Croix de bois. Albin Michel published it in Paris in 1919. 

Yamauchi Yoshio brought the novel to Japanese readers in 1931. In his translator’s preface, dated February 27, 1931, he drew the comparison directly: Les Croix de bois stood to France as All Quiet on the Western Front stood to Germany. He also explained his decision to retitle the work: the literal 「木の十字枹」 risked evoking a purely religious association in Japanese readers’ minds, so he chose 「戦争の溺息」 — Sighs of War — to stay true to the spirit of the content. Shinchōsha published it on December 23, Shōwa 6. The binding was designed by Yamana Ayao, art director of Shiseido and the most refined commercial designer of the Taishō–Shōwa era.

[IMPORTANT NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: EASY AI TRANSLATION]

While the text is printed in Japanese, you can easily read and study this historic book using modern smartphone AI tools! By taking a photo of any page with your smartphone and using free apps like Google Lens, ChatGPT, or Google Translate, the embedded AI will instantly scan and translate the text on your screen layout. Language is no longer a barrier to owning and enjoying this rare piece of international history.

[WHY THIS VOLUME IS A PRIZED COLLECTOR’S ITEM]

1. The first Japanese translation — with an intentional retitling. Yamauchi Yoshio translated Les Croix de bois as Sensō no Tameiki — a deliberate choice explained in his preface: the literal 「木の十字枹」 carried too strong a religious connotation for Japanese readers. This first edition, first printing, in its original slipcase, is the only form in which that translation appeared under this title.

2. Yamana Ayao’s constructivist binding. The slipcase carries one of the most striking designs in Shōwa publishing: a steel helmet, a red sun, a wooden cross, and the title lettered in bold vertical strokes against a dark ground. Yamana Ayao was Shiseido’s art director and the dominant graphic sensibility of his generation.

3. Seven years as the only title. In 1938, Shinchōsha reissued the translation in the Shinchō Bunko series under the literal title 「木の十字枹」. From 1931 to 1938, this edition — under the title Yamauchi chose — was the only Japanese Les Croix de bois in existence.

[CONDITION]

Good Vintage Condition — Exceptional Survival for 95 Years

- Slipcase: Intact overall. Yamana Ayao’s constructivist design remains vivid — helmet, cross, and red sun all clear. Light wear to corners consistent with age.
- Covers & Spine: Binding sound and firm. Spine lettering legible. The metal corner pieces show significant wear: heavily abraded throughout, with a tear visible at the lower corners. The interior of the binding is unaffected, as confirmed by inspection of the rear board.
- Binding: Tight, secure, and fully intact.
- Interior & Pages: Age-toning present throughout, consistent with a 1931 printing; no tears, no inscriptions.
- Please carefully inspect all high-resolution listing photos to verify the vintage condition of this item.