Paris

First edition in French, one of 75 numbered copies on bambou paper, the only deluxe copies after 20 on Montgolfier.
Handsome copy.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Publisher's full red cloth binding, smooth spine, front cover stamped with the manufacturer's chevrons.
Handsome copy complete with its illustrated dust jacket, beautiful iconography.
Fine autograph inscription signed by Jacques Séguéla to a couple of friends.

First edition of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy, with preface by Eugène Frot.
Autograph inscription signed by Louis Guitard to Alfred Fabre-Luce.

New "first edition", printed in 500 copies on laid Arches paper and consisting of the second printing of this text (completed on June 20, 1911).
This edition, published less than a month after the original which appeared on May 29, 1911, is considered the first edition of this text, as the latter was almost entirely destroyed, André Gide being dissatisfied with the printing because three pages did not have the regular number of lines.
Half brown morocco binding with corners, spine with five raised bands set with black fillets, date and binder's name gilt at foot, pebbled paper boards, combed paper endpapers and pastedowns, bookplate pasted on one pastedown, blue covers and spine unfaded as generally preserved, top edge gilt, elegant contemporary binding signed Huser.
Precious autograph inscription signed by André Gide to the symbolist poet André Fontainas written at Cuverville on July 3rd.
Handsome copy perfectly established.

Rare first edition decorated with ornamental headpieces, letterheads and culs-de-lampe.

Posterior binding in full red morocco, Jansenist spine, gilt date at the foot, marbled endpapers, frame of gilt roll-tooling on the pastedown endpapers, all edges gilt.
A very beautiful copy of one of the most famous plays in the French repertoire. It was played for the first time on 13 December 1669 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne and received a mixed reception. At the head of this edition is a preface by the playwright responding to his critics:

“Of all the works that I have given to the public, there is none
that attracted more applause and nor more critics that this one. [...] What is missed by the spectators may be noticed by the readers.”

Collected edition, one of the numbered copies, the only issue.
Publisher's Bradel binding in full white cloth, smooth spine, front cover decorated with a geometric design.
Handsome copy.

First edition of the French translation, one of 5 numbered copies on Japan paper, deluxe issue.
Frontispiece photographic portrait of the author.
Full chocolate-brown morocco binding, spine with five raised bands framed by blind fillets, date gilt at foot, gilt rolls on the caps, gilt-stamped allegorical figure as ex-libris on the covers, double gilt fillets along the edges, marbled paper endpapers and doublures, gilt sextuple fillet border on the doublures, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt, an immaculate contemporary binding signed Canape.
Spine very slightly faded, without significance.
A fine and rare copy, entirely uncut, handsomely bound in full morocco bearing the gilt arms of the distinguished Spanish bibliophile Isidoro Fernandez, with his bookplate pasted on a doublure.

First edition, one of a few numbered copies on alfa paper for the first volume, one of a few numbered copies on Japan bamboo paper for the second and one of a few numbered copies on alfa paper for the third and final volume, the only deluxe copies.
Bound in half chocolate brown shagreen with corners, spines with four raised bands set with blind fillets, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns, covers and spines preserved, top edges gilt on deckled edges.
A handsome copy handsomely bound and complete in three volumes.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Minor tears to spine without consequence.
Signed and inscribed by Louis Rougier to Ernest Kahan.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy.
Signed and inscribed by Louis Michel to Professor Guy Degen.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies, of this thesis submitted for the doctorate in letters.
Handsome copy.
Autograph inscription dated 1985 and signed by Jean Raimond to Professor Guy Degen: "... ce livre (ou péché de jeunesse) sur un romantique anglais "mineur"..." ["... this book (or sin of youth) on a 'minor' English romantic..."]

First edition, one of 87 numbered copies on pure wove paper, ours being one of 7 hors commerce, the only deluxe copies printed.
A fine copy.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy.
Autograph inscription signed by Jean-Marie Turpin, grandson of Louis-Ferdinand Céline, to Professor Guy Degen.

First edition, illustrated with a repeated frontispiece and 30 steel-engraved plates by Gavarni engraved by Geoffroy on China paper laid down. Printed on fine white wove paper. Blue or neutral tissue guards. Illustrated orange-tinted covers preserved (spine and back covers with advertisements also preserved).
Half lavender morocco binding with corners and long grain signed Mercier (1920) at the top of the first endpaper, in Romantic style. Spine with false raised bands richly decorated with two complex mirrored tools in each compartment, blind fillets and rolls on the bands. Separation fillets on the boards. Uncut copy, full-margined. Perfect paper freshness. Light rubbing traces, impact at foot of the Parures volume with a dent of 0.8cm.
Very handsome copy, rare in this condition.
Blue leather bookplate P. Villeboeuf, with his gilt monogram also at top of pastedowns.
Méry's texts are short stories centered around a precious stone or jewel.

First edition, of exceptional rarity. According to a manuscript note by Rousseau himself in the copy offered and dedicated in his name, the print run was only 27 copies (Catalogue librairie P. Bérès 59, no. 233). This edition never appeared in commerce, all copies were given by the author with names on the title page, written by the author. Ours has unfortunately been erased (the paper seems to have been scraped at this location) and has been replaced by the author's name in grey pencil. However, a manuscript name is found in the margin of one of the leaves: Decheppe, or de Cheppe, name of a noble family whose members at this time could be Marie-Jeanne Antoinette de Cheppe, or Jean-François de Cheppe. Printed on Holland paper.
Contemporary full brown calf binding. Spine with raised bands decorated. Brown calf title label. Rubbing. A small lack of leather at head revealing the board. 3 corners bumped. The red velvet bookmark pp. 200, 201 has left yellow stains. Some occasional scattered foxing.
Gallant and gently erotic novel whose story takes place in a seraglio in Aleppo. (Dictionnaire des oeuvres érotiques, p. 26.). Grimm, in his Correspondance littéraire, writes on 6 February 1761 that he awaits "avec une impatience extrême" ["with extreme impatience"] to read this novel. In Daïra, conte à la mode orientale, the author alludes to his wife, a former actress whose adventure with the Maréchal de Richelieu, whom she joined by means of a revolving chimney, had just caused a scandal and which was the cause of the couple's separation. The fermier général Le Riche de La Popelinière (1692-1762) remained famous for his luxury, his gallant adventures and the enlightened protection he granted to Rousseau, Rameau or Marmontel. Called the cherished child of the Muses by Voltaire, he received numerous artists in his residences in Paris and Passy.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Some light worming to spine and boards.
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Vladimir Jankélévitch to Jeannine Lazard presenting his wishes for the coming year 1956.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy.
Signed and inscribed by Robert d'Harcourt to Alfred Fabre-Luce.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Handsome copy.
Autograph inscription signed by Marcel Barrière to Alfred Fabre-Luce.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy.
Signed autograph inscription from Philippe Saint-Germain to Alfred Fabre-Luce: "... Histoire allez Gauloise de cornichons du bocal et du conserveur ! " ["... Gaulish history go pickles from the jar and the preserver!"]

First edition, one of 50 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only deluxe copies.
Handsome copy.

First edition, one of 220 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only deluxe copies.
Handsome copy.

Deluxe edition, one of 1000 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only issue after 50 on vélin crèvecoeur.
Handsome copy decorated with initials, head- and tailpieces.

First edition, one of 115 numbered deluxe copies, the only deluxe copies.
Slipcase split at the bottom.
Handsome copy presented in sheets, under double chemise and cream white slipcase.

First edition illustrated with more than 100 superb heliogravure photographs of French monuments and churches illuminated by the Mazda company.
A slight lack to foot of spine.
Handsome copy with unfaded blue covers and complete with its two tissue paper sheets protecting the very first and very last pages of this catalogue celebrating the glory of the Mazda company.

Autograph letter signed by Jean Wahl addressed to Marc Barbezat, two and a quarter pages written in black ink on two sheets. Envelope included. Transverse fold inherent to the mailing.
Jean Wahl was Marc Barbezat's examiner for the philosophy baccalaureate examination, and it was then that the two men became friends. In 1940, shortly after this letter was written, Barbezat would found the review L'Arbalète to which the philosopher would contribute by entrusting his very first poems to his young protégé. This review would later become a publishing house that would notably publish Jean Genet's first and scandalous texts.
Long letter notably discussing the sculptor Agustín Cárdenas: "J'ai lu avec plaisir ce que vous disiez du témoignage de Cardenas. (Croyez-vous cependant que les animaliers d'aujourd'hui soient si méprisables ?)" ["I read with pleasure what you said about Cardenas's testimony. (Do you really think that today's animal sculptors are so contemptible?)"] He then lists some "auteurs lyonnais" ["authors from Lyon"] of his acquaintance: "Albert Marie Schmidt [...] qui vient de faire paraîtreune thèse sur la poésie scientifique au 16ème siècle. Il y parle de Maurice Scève. [...] 2° Un jeune russe Balacheff [...] 3° Boas, professeur à l'université de Glasgow, Scotland [...] 4° Marcel Raymond, l'auteur de Baudelaire au Surréalisme [...] 5° Joseph Rouault, spécialiste de Du Bellay [...] Peut-être pourriez-vous écrire à [Georges] Blin [...]" ["Albert Marie Schmidt [...] who has just published a thesis on scientific poetry in the 16th century. He speaks of Maurice Scève there. [...] 2° A young Russian Balacheff [...] 3° Boas, professor at the University of Glasgow, Scotland [...] 4° Marcel Raymond, the author of Baudelaire to Surrealism [...] 5° Joseph Rouault, specialist in Du Bellay [...] Perhaps you could write to [Georges] Blin [...]"]

Signed autograph letter from Jean Wahl addressed to Marc Barbezat, one page written in black ink on a sheet. Envelope included. Transverse fold inherent to the mailing.
Jean Wahl was Marc Barbezat's examiner for the philosophy baccalaureate examination, and it was then that the two men became friends. In 1940, shortly after writing this letter, Barbezat would found the journal L'Arbalète to which the philosopher would contribute by entrusting his very first poems to his young protégé. This journal would later become a publishing house that would notably publish the first and scandalous texts of Jean Genet.
Letter in response to a request from Marc Barbezat who had undoubtedly asked Wahl for a text: "I definitely cannot send you anything of mine." He mentions Marcel Raymond and gives Balacheff's address.

First edition, one of 110 numbered copies on laid Lafuma Navarre paper and reimposed in Tellière quarto format, deluxe copy.
Bradel binding in half navy blue straight-grained morocco, smooth spine, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, covers and spine preserved, bibliophile's label pasted at foot of one pastedown as bookplate.
Handsome copy.

Autograph letter signed by Jean Wahl addressed to Marc Barbezat, one and a half pages written in black ink on a sheet. On the attached envelope, one can see that the mail was redirected to another address, as Marc Barbezat had just been mobilized. Transverse folds inherent to mailing and two corner folds.
Jean Wahl was Marc Barbezat's examiner for the philosophy baccalaureate exam, and it was then that the two men became friends. In 1940, shortly after writing this letter, Barbezat would found the magazine L'Arbalète to which the philosopher would contribute by entrusting his very first poems to his young protégé. This magazine would later become a publishing house that would notably publish Jean Genet's first and scandalous texts.
"J'ai conservé de la soirée passée avec votre amie et vous un souvenir délicieux en redonnant à ce mot un peu usé sa valeur. Ce qui prouve que, même de cette horrible époque, on peut conserver d'excellents souvenirs. [...] Et cette note pour la NRF dont vous m'aviez parlé ?" ["I have kept a delicious memory of the evening spent with your friend and you, giving this somewhat worn word back its value. Which proves that even from this horrible period, one can retain excellent memories. [...] And what about that note for the NRF you had mentioned?"]
Attached is a press clipping, evidently extracted from the Nouvelle Revue Française of December 1939.

First edition, one of 16 numbered copies on pur fil paper, ours one of 6 hors commerce copies, the only deluxe copies.
Work illustrated with 13 photographic plates hors-texte.
Some light foxing, small marginal tears to covers, full-margined copy.
Manuscript note by Gaston Bergery on the front endpaper: "Pour donner à L. FL l'envie de partir. G." ["To give L. FL the desire to leave. G."] as an autograph inscription.

Signed autograph note by Reynaldo Hahn addressed to Madame Serge André and written on a white paper letter-card in blue ink. Central fold inherent to the mailing.
Dominique André is a poetess, novelist and playwright. She notably published under the pseudonym Claude Isambert.
Reynaldo Hahn declines an invitation from his friend: "Est-ce possible, chère Madame ! Vous m'invitez à goûter ! Hélas, je ne pense pas aller nulle part dans la journée ! Un soir à l'Escargot d'Or on avait projeté de se voir : Lacretelle devait me faire signe - que sais-je ?" ["Is it possible, dear Madame! You invite me for afternoon tea! Alas, I don't think I'm going anywhere during the day! One evening at the Escargot d'Or we had planned to see each other: Lacretelle was supposed to let me know - what do I know?"]

Signed autograph note by Reynaldo Hahn addressed to Madame Serge André and written on a white paper letter-card in blue ink. Central fold inherent to the mailing.
Dominique André is a poetess, novelist and playwright. She notably published under the pseudonym Claude Isambert.
"J'ai trop tardé, chère Madame, à vous remercier de votre livre et du plaisir qu'il m'a procuré. Plaisir amer et trouble - mais rare. Ce qui est particulièrement remarquable en ces pages, c'est leur extrême distinction..." ["I have delayed too long, dear Madame, in thanking you for your book and the pleasure it has given me. Bitter and troubled pleasure - but rare. What is particularly remarkable in these pages is their extreme distinction..."]

First edition consisting of 26 full-page drawing plates by Ferdinand Bac.
Preface by Marcel Prévost.
Bradel binding in half red cloth with corners, smooth spine, black shagreen title-label, gilt date at foot, gilt fillet frame on marbled paper boards, speckled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers preserved, corners slightly bumped, contemporary binding.
First wrapper preserved but tending to come loose, light superficial scuffing to boards without significance.

First edition, one of 80 numbered copies on pur fil du Marais paper, the only deluxe copies along with a few other pur fil du Marais hors commerce copies.
Handsome copy.
Volume II only.
Provenance: from the family library of Alfred Fabre-Luce.

First edition, one of 50 numbered copies on pur fil du Marais paper, the only deluxe copies along with a few other pur fil du Marais hors commerce copies.
Handsome copy.
Volume III only.
Provenance: from the family library of Alfred Fabre-Luce.

First edition, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Spine slightly browned and rubbed at foot.
Autograph inscription signed by Henri de Kerillis to Alfred Fabre-Luce enriched with the signature of Raymond Cartier.

First edition.
Handsome copy.
Dated autograph inscription signed by an official of the association of friends of Fernand de Brinon to Alfred Fabre-Luce: "... ce dernier effort de l'auteur qui n'est plus pour se faire entendre vivant." ["... this final effort of the author who is no more to make himself heard while living."]

First edition.
Half caramel morocco with small corners, spine with four raised bands decorated with black fillets, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, bookplate pasted on one pastedown, top edge gilt, covers and spine (sunned and with some lacks) preserved. Discreet restorations to joints.
Fine copy handsomely bound.
Precious autograph inscription signed by Victor Hugo to Constant Laurent.

First edition illustrated with reproductions of works by Louis Toffoli.
Full blue cloth binding, smooth spine, blue-grey full cloth slipcase.
Fine copy complete with its illustrated dust jacket.
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Louis Toffoli to Bernard Gauche.

First edition, one of 3000 copies on alfa vellum, the only deluxe copies after 120 on pur fil.
Spine and boards yellowed, handsome interior condition.

First edition, one of the numbered copies on alfa paper.
The work is illustrated with original illustrations by Edy Legrand.
Spine lightly sunned with two tiny lacks at head and foot.
Signed autograph inscription from Henri de Montherlant to Henri Poulain, literary columnist and later administrator of the collaborationist newspaper "Je suis partout".

Autograph letter signed by Jean Wahl addressed to Marc Barbezat, two pages written in blue ink on one leaf. Envelope included. Transverse fold inherent to mailing.
Jean Wahl was Marc Barbezat's examiner for the philosophy baccalaureate examination, and it was then that the two men became friends. In 1940, shortly after writing this letter, Barbezat would found the review L'Arbalète to which the philosopher would contribute by entrusting his very first poems to his young protégé. This review would later become a publishing house that would notably publish the first and scandalous texts of Jean Genet.
Beautiful and very poetic letter: "Merci de tout coeur de cette lettre où le coeur se meurt - et la mer - et la solitude, l'étrangeté ; l'au-delà de ce paysage que vous me décrivez." ["Thank you with all my heart for this letter where the heart dies - and the sea - and solitude, strangeness; the beyond of this landscape that you describe to me."] Wahl laments: "C'est dommage que lorsque je suis en face de vous vous, notre intimité que je sens dans vos lettres et dans les miennes s'évanouisse. [...] Nous sommes tous bien emprisonnés en nous-mêmes." ["It's a shame that when I am face to face with you, our intimacy that I feel in your letters and in mine vanishes. [...] We are all quite imprisoned within ourselves."]

Illustrated edition with first printing of vignettes by Tony Johannot, Baron, Celestin Nanteuil, Grandville, Geoffroy and 32 plates by the same artists.
Half chocolate brown morocco with corners, late 19th century, signed Bertault at the top of the first endpaper. Smooth spine richly decorated with mirror-pattern tools in Romantic style, roulette at head and tail, frame fillets. Separating fillets on boards. Top edge gilt. Covers and spine preserved. Uncut copy with full margins. Paper perfectly fresh, immaculate. Spine slightly sunned. Some traces of rubbing.
Very handsome copy of this rare illustrated Romantic work.

Autograph letter signed by Jean Wahl addressed to Marc Barbezat, two pages written in black ink on a sheet. Envelope enclosed. Transverse fold inherent to the mailing.
Jean Wahl was Marc Barbezat's examiner for the philosophy examination at the baccalaureate, it was then that the two men became friends. In 1940, shortly after writing this letter, Barbezat would found the review L'Arbalète to which the philosopher would collaborate by entrusting his very first poems to his young protégé. This review would subsequently become a publishing house that would notably publish the first and sulfurous texts of Jean Genet.
The letter mentions another philosopher: "I spoke about your previous letter to Gabriel Marcel [...] - And he told me that he knows your father. How curious." Wahl also speaks of the essayist Marcel Brion and other of his illustrious acquaintances: "I do not entirely share your opinion on Marcel Brion (perhaps I know him poorly) but I greatly appreciate [Pierre Jean] Jouve, whom I see often, moreover. [...] I have also seen recently Gide and Bergson [...] Gide is going to leave for Africa. He seems to have risen above politics." The philosopher gives an account of his reading of André Malraux's L'Espoir published the previous month: "I tried in vain to read the Malraux, which must nevertheless contain beautiful pages. (I even saw or glimpsed a few)" He concludes his letter with a consideration concerning the Marx Brothers: "I do not much like the Marx Brothers."

Autograph letter signed by Pierre Louÿs, signed with his initial, addressed to Georges Louis. Four pages written in blue ink on a double sheet. Envelope enclosed bearing, on the verso, the intact wax seal with the writer's cipher. Transverse fold inherent to the mailing.
Important letter addressed to his brother Georges Louis with whom Pierre Louÿs maintained a very intimate relationship and whom he considered as his own father.
The question of the real identity of Pierre Louÿs' father still fascinates biographers today: "His father, Pierre Philippe Louis, [...] had married in 1842 Jeanne Constance Blanchin, who died ten years later after giving him two children, Lucie and Georges. In 1855, he remarried Claire Céline Maldan, and from this union was born, in 1857, a son, Paul; then, in 1870, our writer, who received the first names Pierre Félix. This late birth, the differences in character between father and son, the former's disaffection towards the latter, the profound intimacy that always reigned between Louÿs and his brother Georges, all this has led certain biographers and critics to suspect that the latter was in reality the father of the writer. The exceptionally intimate and constant relationship that Pierre and Georges maintained between them all their lives, could be an argument in this sense. Of course, no irrefutable proof has been discovered, and probably never will be. Nevertheless, certain letters [...] are quite troubling. In 1895, for example, Louÿs writes seriously to his brother that he knows the answer to 'the most poignant question' he could ask him, a question he has had 'on his lips for ten years.' The following year, in the midst of Aphrodite's triumph, he thanks Georges effusively and ends his letter with this sentence: 'Not one of my friends has a FATHER who is for him what you are for me.' Arguing from the close intimacy of Georges and Claire Céline during 1870, and the jealousy that the father never ceased to show towards his younger son, Claude Farrère did not hesitate to conclude in favor of Georges Louis. And what to make of this dedication by Louÿs to his brother on a Japan paper copy of the first edition of Pausole: To Georges, his eldest son / Pierre." (Jean-Paul Goujon, Pierre Louÿs)
As attested by the enclosed envelope, Pierre Louÿs sends this letter to his brother while the latter is exercising the function of France's delegate to the International Commission of Egyptian Debt and is in Cairo. Like a good socialite, Pierre tells his brother about his new encounters: "I met yesterday at a friend's house one of the sons of your minister [Marcellin Berthelot]. I have known all four of them for a long time, but I see little of them. One of them (André) is a friend of Henri Mougeot with whom he has rented, along with two or three other young men, a house in Chevreuse and a mistress in Paris. [...] The other, Daniel is a professor at the School of Pharmacy. A remarkable chemist, they say. Philippe does nothing special [...] Finally René, the youngest, is Blum's oldest friend and his great rival of former times in the general competition. [...] It is Philippe who formed five or six years ago with Léon Daudet and Georges Hugo such a famous trinity. He is also known for having written a sonnet containing six rhymes in omphe, which stupefied Heredia."
But these worldly matters do not distance Pierre Louÿs from literature. Indeed, his first novel entitled Aphrodite is about to appear and he wonders to whom he could dedicate it. He first thought of José Maria de Heredia but... "H. refuses [...] the dedication of Aphr. because he still has two daughters to marry. I myself had put a thousand reservations in my offer, and his response, after all, is not unobliging. I know on the other hand that he repeats before strangers and indifferent persons everything he told me about the book and in the same hyperbolic terms. Finally he gave me this argument: I want to write you an article in the Débats; I could not write it if the book were dedicated to me. - So I am thinking of Besnard. What do you say?"
The question takes on full importance: Louÿs had until then published only booklets printed in limited editions. The work, which will finally be dedicated to Albert Besnard, will achieve immense success, contributing greatly to the launch of the Mercure de France publishing house. We also know what other great success Pierre Louÿs will achieve with the Heredia daughters.
Very fine letter written on the eve of Pierre Louÿs' first great public success, the novel Aphrodite.

Autograph letter signed by Pierre [Louÿs], addressed to his father, four pages written in black ink on a double sheet of white paper. Transverse folds inherent to folding for mailing.
This letter was sent by the young Pierre Louÿs while he was studying at the Janson-de-Sailly lycée (Paris - 16th arrondissement).
This is very likely one of Pierre Louÿs's last letters to his father, ten days before the latter's death: "Do you know that in less than two weeks I will be beside you? [...] May I hope that by then you will have regained some strength?"
The question of Pierre Louÿs's real paternal identity still fascinates biographers today: "His father, Pierre Philippe Louis, [...] had married in 1842 Jeanne Constance Blanchin, who died ten years later after giving him two children, Lucie and Georges. In 1855, he remarried Claire Céline Maldan, and from this union was born, in 1857, a son, Paul; then, in 1870, our writer, who received the first names Pierre Félix. This late birth, the differences in character between father and son, the first's disaffection toward the second, the profound intimacy that always reigned between Louÿs and his brother Georges, all this has led certain biographers and critics to suspect that the latter was in reality the writer's father. The exceptionally intimate and constant relationship that Pierre and Georges maintained between them throughout their lives, could be an argument in this sense. Of course, no irrefutable proof has been discovered, and none will probably ever be discovered. Nevertheless, certain letters [...] are quite troubling. In 1895, for example, Louÿs writes seriously to his brother that he knows the answer to 'the most poignant question' he could ask him, a question he has had 'on his lips for ten years.' The following year, in the midst of Aphrodite's triumph, he thanks Georges effusively and ends his letter with this sentence: 'Not one of my friends has a FATHER who is to him what you are to me.' Arguing from the close intimacy of Georges and Claire Céline during the year 1870, and from the jealousy that the father never ceased to show toward his younger son, Claude Farrère did not hesitate to conclude in favor of Georges Louis. And what to think of this dedication by Louÿs to his brother on a Japan paper copy of the first edition of Pausole: To Georges, his eldest son / Pierre." (Jean-Paul Goujon, Pierre Louÿs)
Pierre Louÿs was only nine years old when his mother died suddenly. The father from then on entrusted his education to his brother Georges, twenty years his senior, and Pierre then joined him in Paris where he attended the École Alsacienne then the Janson-de-Sailly lycée.
Despite the little affection shown to him, the young man writes every week to his "dear papa," residing at Dizy-Magenta near Épernay. The young man inquires about his poor health: "May I hope that by then you will have regained some strength? No doubt. Your eczema, we hope, will not have worsened; and the green leaves that are beginning to appear will perhaps give you hope yourself, for improvement next summer." The "improvement" would sadly never come, and Pierre Philippe Louis would breathe his last on April 14, 1889. In the meantime, Pierre Louÿs gives family news, more precisely about Germaine, his sister Lucie's daughter: "Today I went to rue de la Santé to get news of Germaine. I found the little one who had been operated on in very good condition, very cheerful and in good health. She was up, and playing on the floor. [...] Finally I ended my day by going to my aunt Marie's and to Elisabeth's. Everyone is well in both houses..." As usual, always anxious not to disappoint his father, he finally transmits his school results: "I return to the lycée tomorrow (did Georges tell you that I was second in English?)"

Autograph letter signed by Jean Wahl addressed to Marc Barbezat, two pages written in blue ink on a sheet. Envelope included. Transverse fold inherent to the mailing.
Jean Wahl was Marc Barbezat's examiner for the philosophy examination at the baccalauréat; it was then that the two men became friends. In 1940, shortly after writing this letter, Barbezat would found the journal L'Arbalète to which the philosopher would contribute by entrusting his very first poems to his young protégé. This journal would later become a publishing house that would notably publish Jean Genet's first and scandalous texts.
Beautiful letter imbued with poetry: "J'ai aimé ce que vous dites sur vos journées passées avec la nature, - avec Dame Nature, Femme nature." ["I loved what you said about your days spent with nature, - with Lady Nature, Woman nature."] Wahl comments: "J'ai reçu un volume de vers de [René] Tavernier dont vous m'avez parlé, et qu'un de mes étudiants connaît. C'est difficile, mais non sans intérêt." ["I received a volume of verse by [René] Tavernier whom you told me about, and whom one of my students knows. It is difficult, but not without interest."]

First edition, a service de presse (advance) copy.
Handsome copy.
Autograph inscription signed by Robert Saint-Jean to Alfred Fabre-Luce: "...cette esquisse d'une Amérique qui essaie des valeurs nouvelles..." ["...this sketch of an America trying new values..."]

Autograph letter signed by Jean Wahl addressed to Marc Barbezat, one and a half pages written in black ink on a sheet. Envelope included. Transversal fold inherent to the mailing.
Jean Wahl was Marc Barbezat's examiner for the philosophy examination at the baccalauréat, it was then that the two men became friends. In 1940, shortly after writing this letter, Barbezat would found the magazine L'Arbalète to which the philosopher would contribute by entrusting his very first poems to his young protégé. This magazine would later become a publishing house that would notably publish the first and scandalous texts of Jean Genet.
The philosopher, having had no news from his former student, wonders: "Je n'ai plus de vos nouvelles. Que devenez-vous ? Quitterez-vous Lyon à Pâques ? Je le pense. [...] Avez-vous découvert de nouvelles choses ? Avez-vous lu ?" ["I have no more news from you. What are you becoming? Will you leave Lyon at Easter? I think so. [...] Have you discovered new things? Have you been reading?"] He concludes his letter sententiously: "Il vaut mieux ne pas penser à l'état du monde." ["It is better not to think about the state of the world."]

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Spine very lightly sunned without significance, complete with publisher's (advertising) slip.
Signed autograph inscription from Pierre Dominique to Alfred Fabre-Luce.

Autograph letter signed by Pierre [Louÿs], addressed to Georges Louis. Five pages written in violet ink on a double leaf and a loose leaf. A press article pasted on the recto of the single leaf. Transverse creases inherent to posting.
Fine letter addressed to his brother Georges Louis with whom Pierre Louÿs maintained a very intimate relationship and whom he considered as his own father.
The question of the real identity of Pierre Louÿs's father still fascinates biographers today: "His father, Pierre Philippe Louis, [...] had married in 1842 Jeanne Constance Blanchin, who died ten years later after giving him two children, Lucie and Georges. In 1855, he remarried Claire Céline Maldan, and from this union was born, in 1857, a son, Paul; then, in 1870, our writer, who received the first names Pierre Félix. This late birth, the differences in character between father and son, the former's disaffection toward the latter, the profound intimacy that always reigned between Louÿs and his brother Georges, all this has led certain biographers and critics to suspect that the latter was in reality the writer's father. The exceptionally intimate and constant relationship that Pierre and Georges maintained between themselves all their lives, could be an argument in this sense. Of course, no irrefutable proof has been discovered, and none will probably ever be discovered. Nevertheless, certain letters [...] are quite disturbing. In 1895, for example, Louÿs writes seriously to his brother that he knows the answer to "the most poignant question" he could ask him, a question he has had "on his lips for ten years." The following year, in the full triumph of Aphrodite, he thanks Georges effusively and ends his letter with this sentence: "Not one of my friends has a FATHER who is to him what you are to me." Arguing from the close intimacy of Georges and Claire Céline during the year 1870, and the jealousy that the father never ceased to show toward his younger son, Claude Farrère did not hesitate to conclude in favor of Georges Louis. And what to think of this dedication by Louÿs to his brother on a deluxe paper copy of the first edition of Pausole: For Georges, his eldest son / Pierre." (Jean-Paul Goujon, Pierre Louÿs)
Pierre Louÿs comments in this letter on Thomas Edison's visit to Paris: "Edison is in France. Toward the end of last month, a journalist questioned him. I regret not having kept the article." The writer then launches into a true dialogue, from his memories of said article, paraphrasing the inventor in the manner of a witness who himself attended the interview: "To the simple question "Are you pleased with your trip?" Edison answered with amiable phrases, and immediately, on his own, he brought the conversation to the subjects: Monoplane. War. He said (I only repeat from memory the sense of what I read:) He said in substance: "You are not yet enthusiastic enough about the value of your new weapon: it is formidable. You take aeroplanes for scouts. Say first: combatants. From the heights where the monoplane evolves easily today, there is an effective military power, but especially an incalculable moral power." He explained himself thus: "Give grenades to an aviator who will drop them. Even if they are not very dangerous, even if they rarely hit their target, the entire enemy army will scatter like a flock of sheep under the flight of the eagle. Five, six grenades falling from the sky will provoke panic terror. Nothing is frightening for a crowd like a peril that comes from above." " This "remarkable interview" related by the writer who finds that "the theory is correct," underlines the visionary character of Edison who seems here to relate the facts of the coming First World War. The erudite Pierre Louÿs illuminates this theory of "Edison the prophet" with his classical culture: "It agrees with the old phrases about the limits of bravery: the Gaul fears only that the sky might fall... [...] It agrees with the ancient principle of defense by tower, battlement and machicolation [...] Still the tower is accessible; but the aviator who flies at 1500 m, he is invulnerable like a god of the Iliad."

Autograph letter from Pierre Louÿs signed with his initial, addressed to Georges Louis. Six pages written in violet ink on a double leaf and a single leaf. Central creases inherent to posting.
Very fine letter addressed to his brother Georges Louis with whom Pierre Louÿs maintained a very intimate relationship and whom he considered as his own father.
The question of the real identity of Pierre Louÿs's father still fascinates biographers today: "His father, Pierre Philippe Louis, [...] had married in 1842 Jeanne Constance Blanchin, who died ten years later after giving him two children, Lucie and Georges. In 1855, he remarried Claire Céline Maldan, and from this union was born, in 1857, a son, Paul; then, in 1870, our writer, who received the first names Pierre Félix. This late birth, the differences in character between father and son, the former's disaffection toward the latter, the profound intimacy that always reigned between Louÿs and his brother Georges, all this has led certain biographers and critics to suspect that the latter was in reality the writer's father. The exceptionally intimate and constant relationship that Pierre and Georges maintained between themselves all their lives, could be an argument in this sense. Of course, no irrefutable proof has been discovered, and none will probably ever be discovered. Nevertheless, certain letters [...] are quite disturbing. In 1895, for example, Louÿs writes seriously to his brother that he knows the answer to "the most poignant question" he could ask him, a question he has had "on his lips for ten years." The following year, in the full triumph of Aphrodite, he thanks Georges effusively and ends his letter with this sentence: "Not one of my friends has a FATHER who is to him what you are to me." Arguing from the close intimacy of Georges and Claire Céline during the year 1870, and the jealousy that the father never ceased to show toward his younger son, Claude Farrère did not hesitate to conclude in favor of Georges Louis. And what to think of this dedication by Louÿs to his brother on a deluxe paper copy of the first edition of Pausole: For Georges, his eldest son / Pierre." (Jean-Paul Goujon, Pierre Louÿs)
A true reflection on literature and the choice of words, this letter was written while Pierre Louÿs was working on a work that would appear the following year: Poëtique.
"Louÿs decides [...] to write a Poëtique which will be like the testament of his work as well as a message to young writers. He had always reflected on poetic art and accumulated dozens of notes, both on poets and on poetry itself." (Ibid.) To reflect on poetic art is precisely what he does in this fine letter: "Regarding negation, I wondered why the principle I tried to establish (nuance, ruse or error) was not classical. I believe the answer is: Chimène. - We take the word as a text to teach high school students that negation is an additional force. - Ex. "Je ne te hais point" ["I do not hate you"] more expressive than "Je t'aime" ["I love you"]. But no. Rodrigue has just said: "Votre haine" ["Your hatred"]. It is Rodrigue who imprints the image. The response "Je ne te hais point" ["I do not hate you"] is the passage from shadow to light: it is to speak the nuance. [...] It is terribly delicate to write "ne pas" ["not"]."
Then in a period of great trouble and isolation, the poet is touched by Paul Valéry's support: "The other day I had written a long letter to Valéry, about my "Poëtique." - He answered me immediately, a letter where he began by thanking me for all that he had felt of affection for him in the very fact that I had spent part of my evening with him without his being there. I answer him in turn - as much as I remember - "It is so rare, friends who suspect affection beneath something. There are hardly more than two kinds of people: those who do not lift the stone because they are certain there is nothing underneath, and those who do not lift the stone because they are certain to find a woodlouse there." I believe that is true, isn't it?"

Autograph letter signed by Jean Wahl addressed to Marc Barbezat, one and a half pages written in black ink on a sheet with Victoria Palace Hotel (Paris) letterhead. Envelope included. Transverse fold inherent to posting.
Jean Wahl was Marc Barbezat's examiner for the philosophy examination at the baccalauréat, and it was then that the two men became friends. In 1940, shortly after writing this letter, Barbezat would found the review L'Arbalète to which the philosopher would contribute by entrusting his very first poems to his young protégé. This review would subsequently become a publishing house that would notably publish Jean Genet's first and scandalous texts.
Jean Wahl is overwhelmed by "marking papers". He mentions an unknown person: "I shall try to get details about this Varlanesco you mention to me."

Autograph letter signed with initial by Pierre Louÿs, addressed to Georges Louis. Two pages written in purple ink on two sheets. Central folds inherent to posting.

Fine letter addressed to his brother Georges Louis with whom Pierre Louÿs maintained a very intimate relationship and whom he considered as his own father.

The question of Pierre Louÿs' real paternal identity still fascinates biographers today: "His father, Pierre Philippe Louis, [...] had married in 1842 Jeanne Constance Blanchin, who died ten years later after giving him two children, Lucie and Georges. In 1855, he remarried Claire Céline Maldan, and from this union was born, in 1857, a son, Paul; then, in 1870, our writer, who received the Christian names Pierre Félix. This late birth, the differences in character between father and son, the former's disaffection towards the latter, the profound intimacy that always reigned between Louÿs and his brother Georges, all this has led certain biographers and critics to suspect that the latter was in reality the writer's father. The exceptionally intimate and constant relationship that Pierre and Georges maintained between themselves throughout their lives, could be an argument in this direction. Of course, no irrefutable proof has been discovered, and probably never will be. Nevertheless, certain letters [...] are quite troubling. In 1895, for example, Louÿs writes gravely to his brother that he knows the answer to 'the most poignant question' he could ask him, a question he has had 'on his lips for ten years'. The following year, at the height of Aphrodite's triumph, he thanks Georges effusively and ends his letter with this sentence: 'Not one of my friends has a FATHER who is to him what you are to me.' Arguing from the close intimacy between Georges and Claire Céline during the year 1870, and from the jealousy that the father never ceased to show towards his younger son, Claude Farrère did not hesitate to conclude in favor of Georges Louis. And what should we think of this dedication by Louÿs to his brother on a Japan paper copy of the first edition of Pausole: To Georges, his eldest son / Pierre." (Jean-Paul Goujon, Pierre Louÿs)

In this interesting letter, Louÿs discusses at length the difficulty writers face in living by their pen. Titling his missive "Continuation of our conversation about war and literature", he first makes a very pessimistic observation: "In the 16th century? It was even worse! In the 16th, the independent man of letters did not exist at all - to write one needed an office, a benefice, - or land and income, rare fortune among writers. [...] It is only in the 19th century that we find a very small number of conscientious writers living by their pen. And even then... Do you want to count them? Hugo almost alone succeeds. Lamartine fails and is obliged to beg pitifully at the end of his life. Gautier, who had magnificent gifts, only subsists by writing in newspapers [...] you see what I mean: Theatre and Journal." He continues: "That works well in peacetime. - In 1890, l'Echo de Paris inserted prose poems in the first column. - In "[date illegible because crossed out] "le Figaro had a literary supplement. [...] But in wartime, in this century, and ten, twelve or fifteen years after the war, we shall go to the woods no more; the laurels are cut down. Oh! In 1930 it will doubtless be very different; but I shall be 60 in fifteen years; and I worry first about 1917; even about 1916."

This very pessimistic letter was written at a period when Louÿs was at his worst "The man who wrote these pages was a solitary man, reclusive, sick, drugged, surrounded by dubious creatures and having as confidant only this adored brother who would die less than a year later." (Ibid.)

New edition.
Handsome copy despite the spine and boards being slightly and marginally lightened.
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Jean Markale to Alain Kerlorc'h: "... cette plongée dans l'univers étrange de nos ancêtres du bout du monde..." ["... this dive into the strange universe of our ancestors from the ends of the earth..."]

First edition of this monograph on the caricaturist Cham with a preface by Alexandre Dumas Fils illustrated with sixteen compositions and facsimiles hors-texte (two in color).
Autograph inscription signed by the author: "Offerte à la tombola par l'auteur Félix Ribeyre" ["Offered to the raffle by the author Félix Ribeyre"].
Contemporary half brown morocco binding, spine with five raised bands, compartments decorated with gilt tools depicting quills and pencil holders, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, combed paper endpapers and pastedowns, covers preserved, top edge gilt on deckled edges. Some light rubbing to upper joint.
Scattered foxing, more pronounced in places.
Our copy is expanded with an autograph letter signed by Cham.

First edition, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Two black ink stains at head of second cover.
Autograph inscription signed by Pierre Dominique to Alfred Fabre-Luce.

First edition, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Light worming to board margins.
Signed and inscribed by Bertrand de Jouvenel to Alfred Fabre-Luce.
Printed statement crossed out, probably by Bertrand de Jouvenel, below the title on the title page.

First edition, one of 300 numbered copies on white laid paper.
Boards marginally and lightly sunned.
Work illustrated with 8 photographs by Edouard Boubat.
Autograph inscription signed by Robert Crégut to Jacques Jouheaud: "... ce livre de poids à un homme de poids..." ["... this weighty book to a man of weight..."]

First bilingual edition published under the direction of André Magnin on the occasion of the exhibition of paintings by Chéri Samba, important painter from the Democratic Republic of Congo, at the Cartier Foundation in 2004.
Publisher's binding, blue cardboard boards, smooth yellow cardboard spine, illustrated front board in relief.
Work illustrated with reproductions of works by Chéri Samba.
Fine autograph inscription dated and signed by Chéri Samba to Jean Pierre Maury, last of the great molder-figurine artists: "Pour un grand Jean Pierre Maury et pour nos grands rires!!! Chaque fois que l'on se rencontre, on s'éclate tjs sans trop savoir pourquoi. Je t'aime fort grand Maury. Chéri Samba. 21 Mai 2004" ["For a great Jean Pierre Maury and for our great laughs!!! Every time we meet, we always have a blast without really knowing why. I love you dearly great Maury. Chéri Samba. 21 May 2004"]

First French edition, one of 245 numbered copies on alfa du Marais paper, the only deluxe copies.
A slight tear at the head of the spine.
Handsome copy.

The first collected edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Spine slightly sunned as generally the case, otherwise a handsome copy.

First edition, one of 35 numbered copies on pure laid paper, the only deluxe copies after 4 nominative pure laid copies.
A small sunning to the head of the front cover.
Handsome copy illustrated by the author.

Autograph letter signed by Antoine Augustin Parmentier addressed to citizen Chely, chief pharmacist of the military hospital of Calais.
Transverse folds inherent to the mailing and small paper loss due to the unsealing of the missive.
"Je suis fâché mon cher camarade, que le C^en [Citoyen] Lavoisier m'ait envoyé un pâté sans doute dans l'intention de m'intéresser en faveur de son fils ; mais je dois vous assurer que les présen[t]s me tiédissent plutôt encore sur le compte de ceux qui m'en font au reste j'enverrais au jeune homme des livres pour la valeur du pâté [...]" ["I am sorry my dear comrade, that Citizen Lavoisier sent me a pâté undoubtedly with the intention of interesting me in favor of his son; but I must assure you that gifts rather cool me towards those who give them to me, moreover I would send the young man books for the value of the pâté [...]"]
An amusing letter evoking a namesake of the great physicist executed the previous year without having left any descendants.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy
Spine very slightly sunned without gravity.
Signed autograph inscription from Emile G. Léonard to Alfred Fabre-Luce.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy
Handsome copy complete with publisher's slip.
Autograph inscription signed by Gaëtan Bernoville to Alfred Fabre-Luce: "... au vaillant et lucide directeur de l'Assaut..." ["...to the valiant and lucid director of l'Assaut..."]

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Iconography, retaining publisher's wraparound band.
Some foxing affecting mainly the endpapers, less pronounced foxing on the half-title page which bears the inscription.
Rare autograph inscription signed by Abbé Pierre to a man named Alain.

First edition.
Handsome copy.
Humorous autograph inscription signed by Plantu to Frédéric Ferney integrated into a comic strip speech bubble escaping from DSK's mouth and enhanced with two drawn hearts.

First edition.
Handsome copy.
Humorous autograph inscription signed by Plantu to Frédéric Ferney integrated into a comic strip speech bubble escaping from the mouth of the presidential candidate standing on the steps of the Elysée Palace and chanting "Vote Frédéric Ferney".

First edition.
Handsome copy.
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Alain Juppé to Alain Kerlorc'h: "... de montois à montois..." ["... from one person from Mont to another person from Mont..."]

First edition.
Publisher's full black cloth binding, smooth spine, complete with its illustrated Mondrian-style dust jacket, black paper endpapers and pastedowns, bookplate pasted on an endpaper.
Handsome copy illustrated with reproductions of works by Piet Mondrian.
Autograph inscription dated and signed by Bernard-Henry Lévy to Régine Kerlorc'h.

First edition.
Publisher's full black cloth binding, smooth spine, complete with illustrated dust jacket, black paper endpapers and pastedowns, bookplate pasted to one endpaper.
Handsome copy illustrated with reproductions of works by Piero della Francesca.
Dated and signed autograph inscription from Bernard-Henry Lévy to Alain Kerlorc'h.

First edition.
Handsome copy.
Dated and signed autograph inscription from Alain Juppé to Alain Kerlorc'h.

First edition illustrated with 48 color lithographs by the author, one of a few named copies on japon reserved for the principal collaborators of the publication, ours specially printed for the celebrated bibliophile Colonel Sickles, deluxe issue.

This copy is complete, as stipulated in the justification, with the duplicate set of lithographs in black and in color.

The work is also illustrated with 40 decorated initials designed by the prestigious bookbinder Paul Bonet.

This is Maurice de Vlaminck's most important illustrated book, which took him nearly ten years to complete.

A fine copy, complete with its slipcase and box.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Signed and inscribed by Bertrand de Jouvenel to Alfred Fabre-Luce and his wife Charlotte: "... ce travail de documentation d'où l'on peut tirer des faits à l'occasion. Il a été fait pour servir de 'silo à faits' avec respectivement, mes hommages et mes amitiés..." ["... this work of documentation from which one can draw facts as needed. It was made to serve as a 'silo of facts' with respectively, my respects and my friendship..."]

First edition, of which there were no deluxe copies.
Handsome copy.
Autograph inscription signed by Jean-Pierre Chevènement to Alain Kerlorc'h.

First edition.
Handsome copy.
Autograph inscription signed by the author to Alain Kerlorc'h.

Edition published the same year as the first edition.
Publisher's binding in full green cloth, smooth spine.
Handsome copy retaining its glassine wrapper, bookplate pasted to endpaper.
Signed autograph inscription from Alphonse Boudard to Alain Kerloc'h: "... un peu de cinoche de derrière les caméras..." ["... a bit of cinema from behind the cameras..."]

First edition, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Minor worming to spine and boards without consequence.
Signed autograph inscription from Jean Galtier-Boissière to Alfred Fabre-Luce.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Complete with publisher's (advertising) slip.
Signed and inscribed copy from Pierre Dominique to Alfred Fabre-Luce.

First edition, one of 100 numbered copies on pure Lana rag paper, the only deluxe copies.
Fine copy.

New edition.
Publisher's binding in full burgundy cloth, smooth spine.
Light spotting to top edge.
Handsome copy complete with its glassine wrapper, bookplate pasted to endpaper.
Autograph inscription signed by Jean d'Ormesson to Alain Kerloc'h.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Handsome copy complete with publisher's (advertising) slip.
Precious signed autograph inscription by Count Sforza to Alfred Fabre-Luce.

The first edition, of which there were no deluxe copies, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Worming mainly affecting the endpapers and edges.
Preface by Lawrence Durrell.
Signed autograph inscription by Claude Seignolle to Dominique Aury.

First edition, a Service de Presse (advance) copy.
Signed autograph inscription from André Dhôtel to Dominique Aury: "... avec toute l'amitié du romancier récidiviste..." ["...with all the friendship of the repeat offender novelist..."]

First edition on ordinary paper.
Some foxing affecting mainly the spine and front cover.
Signed autograph inscription from Jean Galtier-Boissière to Alfred Fabre-Luce.

Edition from the year of the first edition, one of the numbered copies.
Publisher's full burgundy cloth binding, smooth spine, complete with its glassine, bookplate pasted on an endpaper.
Autograph inscription signed by Jean Dutourd to Alain Kerlorc'h.

Original color print, pulled on laid paper, signed upper left of the plate.
Original engraving created for the illustration of La Gazette du bon ton, one of the most beautiful and influential fashion magazines of the 20th century, celebrating the talent of French creators and artists during the height of the Art Deco movement.
Famous fashion magazine founded in 1912 by Lucien Vogel, La Gazette du bon ton was published until 1925 with an interruption during the War from 1915 to 1920, due to the mobilization of its editor-in-chief. It consists of 69 issues printed in only 2000 copies and is illustrated notably with 573 color plates and 148 sketches representing models by great couturiers. From their publication, these luxurious publications "addressed bibliophiles and worldly aesthetes" (Françoise Tétart-Vittu "La Gazette du bon ton" in Dictionnaire de la mode, 2016). Printed on fine laid paper, they use a typeface specially created for the magazine by Georges Peignot, the Cochin character, adopted in 1946 by Christian Dior. The prints are created using the metal stencil technique, heightened in colors and for some highlighted with gold or palladium.
The adventure began in 1912 when Lucien Vogel, man of the world and fashion - he had already participated in the magazine Femina - decided to found with his wife Cosette de Brunhoff (sister of Jean, the father of Babar) the Gazette du bon ton whose subtitle was then "Art, modes et frivolités". Georges Charensol reports the words of the editor-in-chief: "En 1910, observe-t-il, il n'existait aucun journal de mode véritablement artistique et représentatif de l'esprit de son époque. Je songeais donc à faire un magazine de luxe avec des artistes véritablement modernes [...] J'étais certain du succès car pour la mode aucun pays ne peut rivaliser avec la France." ["In 1910, he observed, there was no fashion journal that was truly artistic and representative of the spirit of its time. I was therefore thinking of making a luxury magazine with truly modern artists [...] I was certain of success because for fashion no country can rival France."] ("Un grand éditeur d'art. Lucien Vogel" in Les Nouvelles littéraires, n°133, May 1925). The success of the magazine was immediate, not only in France, but also in the United States and South America.
Originally, Vogel thus brought together a group of seven artists: André-Édouard Marty and Pierre Brissaud, followed by Georges Lepape and Dammicourt; and finally his friends from the École des beaux-arts who were George Barbier, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, or Charles Martin. Other talents quickly joined the team: Guy Arnoux, Léon Bakst, Benito, Boutet de Monvel, Umberto Brunelleschi, Chas Laborde, Jean-Gabriel Domergue, Raoul Dufy, Édouard Halouze, Alexandre Iacovleff, Jean Émile Laboureur, Charles Loupot, Charles Martin, Maggie Salcedo. These artists, mostly unknown when Lucien Vogel called upon them, would subsequently become emblematic and sought-after artistic figures. These same illustrators created the drawings for the Gazette's advertisements.
The plates highlight and sublimate the dresses of seven creators of the period: Lanvin, Doeuillet, Paquin, Poiret, Worth, Vionnet and Doucet. The couturiers provided exclusive models for each issue. Nevertheless, some of the illustrations feature no real model, but only the illustrator's idea of contemporary fashion.
La Gazette du bon ton is a decisive step in fashion history. Combining aesthetic requirements and plastic unity, it brought together for the first time the great talents from the worlds of arts, letters and fashion and imposed, through this alchemy, a completely new image of women, slender, independent and audacious, also carried by the new generation of couturiers Coco Chanel, Jean Patou, Marcel Rochas...
Taken over in 1920 by Condé Montrose Nast, the Gazette du bon ton would largely inspire the new composition and aesthetic choices of the "dying little journal" that Nast had purchased a few years earlier: Vogue magazine.

Original color print, on laid paper, signed at bottom right of the plate.
Original engraving created for the illustration of La Gazette du bon ton, one of the most beautiful and influential fashion magazines of the 20th century, celebrating the talent of French creators and artists during the flourishing of Art Deco.
Famous fashion magazine founded in 1912 by Lucien Vogel, La Gazette du bon ton was published until 1925 with an interruption during the War from 1915 to 1920, due to the mobilization of its editor-in-chief. It consists of 69 issues printed in only 2000 copies and is illustrated notably with 573 color plates and 148 sketches representing models by great couturiers. From their publication, these luxurious publications "were addressed to bibliophiles and worldly aesthetes" (Françoise Tétart-Vittu "La Gazette du bon ton" in Dictionnaire de la mode, 2016). Printed on fine laid paper, they use a typeface specially created for the magazine by Georges Peignot, the Cochin character, adopted in 1946 by Christian Dior. The prints are created using the metal stencil technique, heightened in colors and some highlighted in gold or palladium.
The adventure begins in 1912 when Lucien Vogel, a man of society and fashion - he had already participated in the magazine Femina - decides to found with his wife Cosette de Brunhoff (sister of Jean, Babar's father) the Gazette du bon ton whose subtitle was then "Art, modes et frivolités". Georges Charensol reports the words of the editor-in-chief: "In 1910, he observes, there existed no fashion journal that was truly artistic and representative of the spirit of its time. I was therefore thinking of making a luxury magazine with truly modern artists [...] I was certain of success because for fashion no country can rival France." ("Un grand éditeur d'art. Lucien Vogel" in Les Nouvelles littéraires, n°133, May 1925). The magazine's success was immediate, not only in France, but also in the United States and South America.
Originally, Vogel therefore assembled a group of seven artists: André-Édouard Marty and Pierre Brissaud, followed by Georges Lepape and Dammicourt; and finally his friends from the École des beaux-arts who were George Barbier, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, or Charles Martin. Other talents quickly joined the team: Guy Arnoux, Léon Bakst, Benito, Boutet de Monvel, Umberto Brunelleschi, Chas Laborde, Jean-Gabriel Domergue, Raoul Dufy, Édouard Halouze, Alexandre Iacovleff, Jean Émile Laboureur, Charles Loupot, Charles Martin, Maggie Salcedo. These artists, mostly unknown when Lucien Vogel called upon them, would later become emblematic and sought-after artistic figures. These same illustrators created the drawings for the Gazette's advertisements.
The plates highlight and sublimate the dresses of seven creators of the time: Lanvin, Doeuillet, Paquin, Poiret, Worth, Vionnet and Doucet. The couturiers provided exclusive models for each issue. Nevertheless, some of the illustrations feature no real model, but only the idea the illustrator had of contemporary fashion.
La Gazette du bon ton is a decisive stage in the history of fashion. Combining aesthetic requirements and plastic unity, it brought together for the first time the great talents of the worlds of arts, letters and fashion and imposed, through this alchemy, a completely new image of woman, slender, independent and bold, also carried by the new generation of couturiers Coco Chanel, Jean Patou, Marcel Rochas...
Taken over in 1920 by Condé Montrose Nast, the Gazette du bon ton would largely inspire the new composition and aesthetic choices of the "dying little journal" that Nast had bought a few years earlier: Vogue magazine.