Georges RODENBACH

Printed carte de visite of the symbolist poet Georges Rodenbach on which he added these few words for his friend Judith Gautier:
"Sincères remerciements à madame Judith Gautier pour son jugement du Musée des Béguines qui m'est précieuse, venant du maître qu'elle est. G.R.." ("Sincere thanks to Madame Judith Gautier for her judgment of the Musée des Béguines which is precious to me, coming from the master that she is. G.R.")

First edition.
Half red shagreen binding, spine with five raised bands, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some tears to leading edges, top edge gilt.
Some rubbing to joints, a discoloration mark to margin of front board, boards marginally browned, some light foxing to interior, the first three leaves tending to detach.
Numerous contributions including those by Alphonse Daudet, Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle, Anatole France, Léon Cladel, Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Arène, Paul Nadar, François Coppée, Maurice Rollinat, Jules Troubat, André Gill, Georges Rodenbach, Emmanuel Des Essarts...
Rare complete third year.

Rare original color lithograph, executed by François Guiguet for L'Estampe Moderne, series number 21 published in January 1899.
One of 50 deluxe proofs printed on Japan paper with wide margins, artist's signature in the plate, publisher's dry stamp depicting a child's profile in the lower margin, numbered deluxe edition stamp on the verso; engraving preceded by a tissue guard captioned with the artist's name, title, and an extract from a work.
Lithograph inspired by an extract from Georges Rodenbach's Miroir du ciel natal, reproduced on the print's tissue guard.
Magnificent French monthly publication issued between May 1897 and April 1899, L'Estampe moderne consists of original chromolithographs which, unlike other periodicals such as Les Maîtres de l'Affiche and as stipulated on the tissue guards, were created specifically by each artist for the periodical. Thus 100 prints were published in total, covering the major artistic movements of the late 19th century: Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Pre-Raphaelites, Orientalists and Belle Époque. Each issue of four prints was printed in 2000 copies sold at 3.50F and 100 on Japan paper offered at 10F. Henri Piazza also planned a confidential deluxe printing: 50 copies on Japan paper with wide margins and 50 in black on China paper at the considerable price of 30F.
This print in a handsome format is superbly printed on the most prestigious of papers: Japan paper. Thick, silky, satiny and pearlescent, it contributes to making each page a work in its own right. Its quality of ink absorption and its affinity with colors also make it the ideal support for these very fine lithographs.
The interest of French collectors in artistic posters intensified at the beginning of the 1890s. Octave Uzanne, to describe this fever, invented the term "postomania." The poster, originally popular and posted in the streets of the capital, then became an art object and its ephemeral medium became precious and destined for preservation.
Piazza decided to remove the poster from its advertising vocation and elevate it to the rank of a complete work of art on the same level as the luxury illustrated book. He thus composed a prestigious collection of entirely original works by the most prominent European artists of the moment: Georges de Feure, Eugène Grasset, Henri Detouche, Emile Berchmans, Louis Rhead, Gaston de Latenay, Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer, Gustave-Max Stevens, Charles Doudelet, Hans Christiansen, Henri Fantin-Latour, Steinlen, Ibels, Engels, Willette, Henri Meunier, Evenepoël, Bellery-Desfontaines, Charles Léandre, etc.
A handsome copy.

Rare original lithograph, executed by Charles Guérin for L'Estampe Moderne, series number 21 published in January 1899.
One of 50 deluxe proofs printed on China paper with wide margins, artist's signature in the plate, publisher's dry stamp depicting a child's profile in the lower margin, mounted on a sheet of laid paper with the numbered deluxe edition stamp on the verso, some foxing.
Lithograph inspired by an extract from Georges Rodenbach's Miroir du ciel natal.
Magnificent French monthly publication issued between May 1897 and April 1899, L'Estampe moderne consists of original chromolithographs which, unlike other periodicals such as Les Maîtres de l'Affiche and as stipulated on the tissue guards, were created specifically by each artist for the periodical. Thus 100 prints were published in total, covering the major artistic movements of the late 19th century: Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Pre-Raphaelites, Orientalists and Belle Époque. Each issue of four prints was printed in 2000 copies sold at 3.50F and 100 on Japan paper offered at 10F. Henri Piazza also planned a confidential deluxe printing: 50 copies on Japan paper with wide margins and 50 in black on China paper at the considerable price of 30F.
This print in a handsome format is superbly printed on one of the most prestigious papers: China paper. "Despite all its qualities, China paper, too insubstantial, owes its reputation not to its own beauty, but to its particular affinities with printing ink. Its texture, smooth and soft at once, is more apt than any other to receive a fine impression. This property makes China paper sought after for printing engravings..." (Anatole France).
The interest of French collectors in artistic posters intensified at the beginning of the 1890s. Octave Uzanne, to describe this fever, invented the term "postomania." The poster, originally popular and posted in the streets of the capital, then became an art object and its ephemeral medium became precious and destined for preservation.
Piazza decided to remove the poster from its advertising vocation and elevate it to the rank of a complete work of art on the same level as the luxury illustrated book. He thus composed a prestigious collection of entirely original works by the most prominent European artists of the moment: Georges de Feure, Eugène Grasset, Henri Detouche, Emile Berchmans, Louis Rhead, Gaston de Latenay, Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer, Gustave-Max Stevens, Charles Doudelet, Hans Christiansen, Henri Fantin-Latour, Steinlen, Ibels, Engels, Willette, Henri Meunier, Evenepoël, Bellery-Desfontaines, Charles Léandre, etc.
A handsome copy.

First edition, one of 1500 numbered copies on chamois laid paper.
Unpublished letters and texts, preface by H. Mondor.
Handsome copy.

First edition, one of 50 numbered copies on Arches laid paper, deluxe copy.
Unpublished letters and texts, preface by Henri Mondor.
Handsome copy despite very light sunning to head of spine.

First edition, one of 1500 numbered copies on buff laid paper.
Unpublished letters and texts, preface by H. Mondor.
Handsome copy.

Bruges la Morte
Edition illustrated with pastel compositions by Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer, engraved by Lorrain, printed with 160 copies, ours being one of the few hors-commerce copies printed on Japan, specially printed for M. le Colonel Sicklès, the tirage de tête (deluxe copy) with 15 other numbered copies on Japan.

Our copy is complete with its five versions of illustrations planned for the copies on Japan, namely, a final version in color (in-text), an annotated color version, a blue version, a green version and a bistre version.

Extremely rare and very beautiful copy of the tirage de tête (deluxe copy).

Edition illustrated with pastel compositions by Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer, engraved by Lorrain, printed with 160 copies, ours being one of the hors-commerce copies specially printed for Charles Flammarion. Our copy is complete with its four versions of illustrations: a final version in colour (in-text), an annotated colour version, a blue version and a green version.

A very beautiful copy.

New edition.
Pleasant full copy of his illustrated jacket.
Our copy is enriched by an autograph letter dated and signed by Elie Rodenbach, grandson of Georges Rodenbach, to the publisher of this book Jacques Antoine in which he is delighted to rediscover the text of his grandfather and is critical of Gaston Compère's preface reproaching him for over-emphasizing the defects of the work.

First edition, one of 1500 numbered copies on chamois laid paper.
Previously unpublished letters and texts, preface by H. Mondor.
Handsome copy.