1913 · (Paris)
by Martin, Charles (illustrator); Corrard, Pierre (editor); Nozière, Fernand (text)
(Paris): Pierre Corrard, 1913. First and only edition of the 1913 number of Modes et Manières d'Aujourd'hui, number 193 of 300 copies, signed by illustrator Charles Martin. In 1912, inspired by the Napoleonic-era fashion journal Modes et Manières du Jour, Pierre Corrard launched Modes et Manières d'Aujourd'hui in Paris. Over the next decade, seven numbers in the series appeared, each pairing the work of a contemporary writer with a portfolio of hand-colored prints by a celebrated Art Deco illustrator, among them Georges Lepape, George Barbier, and André Marty. This 1913 number, the "2e année" of the journal, features text by the playwright Fernand Nozière and twelve fashion plates by Charles Martin, a regular contributor to Harper's Bazaar, Gazette du Bon Ton, and Fémina. Martin's vibrant fashion plates capture the fluid, freeing styles suited to the leisure pursuits of the modern Parisienne, the "femme languissante" of Nozière's introduction, whose dresses are always on the verge of slipping off. Accompanied by verse captions, Martin's models brave the snow in comically voluminous fur coats, fling off their boudoir slippers, chase fireflies and birds in the park, and play "le bijoutier de la nature" by picking cherries for earrings. This 1913 number of Modes et Manières d'Aujourd'hui was the most commercially successful in the series, the result of Martin's whimsical portfolio. Complete volumes of Modes et Manières in the original portfolios are uncommon. Text in French. A fine bright copy of an Art Deco landmark. Unbound sheets as issued, measuring 10.75 x 7 inches: [4], 9, xii. Text printed recto only in black and brown; vignettes to title page and limitation page; numbered and signed in pencil by Charles Martin. Twelve numbered and captioned color pochoir plates, some heightened in gold or silver, with tissue guards. Original illustrated portfolio with brown silk ties, lined with orange and black patterned paper designed by Martin, original tissue dust jacket. Lower silk tie missing, faint mark to final plate. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
(Inventory #: 1003843)