Chansons pour elle

VERLAINE Paul
Chansons pour elle [Songs for Her] Léon Vanier, Paris 1891, 125 x 185 mm (4 15/16 x 7 1/4 ”), 20th-century full morocco, custom slipcase
First edition, one of 25 copies on Japon paper, the only grand papier (deluxe) copies.
A magnificent pale pink morocco binding by A. & R. Maylander, the spine in five compartments with floral decoration, inlaid pieces of red, beige, and green morocco making up the petals and leaves, the covers within a similar frame of garlands of flowers, gilt-rolled decoration to head and foot, double gilt fillets to edges of covers, pale pink morocco frame to pastedowns with a double frame of gilt fillets and floral decoration (as to boards and spine) to corners, pastedowns and endpapers of light brown moiré silk, additional marbled endpapers, covers and spine preserved, all edges gilt; half pale pink morocco chemise over marbled paper boards, spine in six compartments, marbled paper slipcase edged with pale pink morocco, lined with cream felt.
This copy enriched with an autograph poem mounted on guards, signed and dated by Paul Verlaine, entitled: “Tu m'as frappé, c'est ridicule [You hit me, it's absurd],” one of the poems in this collection.
One can spot one variant and two errors not noted by the editors at la Pléiade:
In verse 2 of the autograph version: “Je t'ai frappée et c'est affreux”, while in the printed version: “Je t'ai battue...”.
In verse 3 of the manuscript: “Je m'en repents”, while in the printed version: “Je m'en repens”.
In verse 7 of the manuscript: “morniffles”, while in the printed version: “mornifles”.
Provenances: from the collections of Louis de Sadeleer and Edouard-Henri Fischer with their ex-librises pasted in.
A very good copy exceptionally enriched with a manuscript poem by Paul Verlaine in a superb binding by Maylander.