Monsieur, madame et bébé

First illustrated edition with 250 wood-engraved compositions by Edmond Morin. A portrait of the author as frontispiece by Léopold Flameng. The ordinary edition contains no justification.
Half navy blue shagreen binding signed E. Bazin (Nancy) with his stamp on the first endpaper. Spine with raised bands richly decorated. Combed edges. Borders rubbed. Scattered foxing. Good copy.
A true literary phenomenon of the late 19th century, the work consists of a succession of light and humorous scenes that celebrate first adolescent stirrings and love of woman, then marriage and paternity. This results in a gentle eroticism that celebrates woman through her adornments, makeup or clothing. Henry James himself praised the beauties of these trifles, writing that he preferred an inch of Droz to a kilometer of Daudet...