signed
1899 · Paris
by (BINDINGS - MERCIER). BALZAC, HONORE DE
Paris: A. Roquette, 1899. No. 75 OF 125 COPIES on papier vélin. 260 x 160 mm. (10 1/4 x 6 1/4"). [3] p.l., i-iv, 32 pp., [3] leaves.
VERY ELEGANT GREEN STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO BY MERCIER (stamp-signed [as "successor to Cuzin"] on the front turn-in), the covers with a large central filigree lozenge framed in the Romantic style in black and gilt, the smooth spine similarly decorated, very attractive salmon pink watered silk doublures framed by wide densely gilt dentelles, free endpapers covered in the same watered silk, all edges gilt. In a (rather toned and slightly worn) marbled slipcase. WITH AN ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR BY FRANÇOIS COURBOIN, signed by the artist along the lower right, and 25 hand-colored prints by Courboin in the text, with printed tissue guards. A Large Paper Copy. Carteret V, p. 21. Spine uniformly sunned to tan (as expected), but the binding especially lustrous and entirely unworn; faint offset from the illustration onto the half title, but very clean and fresh, with immense margins, and with almost no signs of use.
A visual delight inside and out, this is a bibliophile's copy of Balzac's slice-of-life classic, luxuriously illustrated (including with an original watercolor) and in a beautifully decorated binding. The gently humorous tale here follows a "man of science" as he attempts to make a dinner engagement, but gets distracted by the tempting booksellers along the Seine and an argument with a professional rival. The binding is part of an important French tradition: the work of the binder Cuzin, who died in 1890, was so well known and so highly esteemed that he was responsible for establishing what was called the "Cuzin style." Devauchelle says that the Cuzin tradition was sustained in its finest form by his celebrated successor Emile Mercier, who signed bindings from this period (including the present work) "Mercier s[uccesseu]r de Cuzin." Beyond the binding, the illustrations here provide a second highlight, as the engraver, librarian, and print historian François Courboin (1865-1926) provides a depiction of Paris and its inhabitants in the first quarter of the 19th century. The original watercolor on the half-title depicts the world-weary main character seated in an overstuffed chair in his night cap, with slippered feet, being served a cup of tea. Both the watercolor and the printed illustrations in the text are done with soft, pleasing colors by an extremely careful hand.. (Inventory #: ST19567-188)
VERY ELEGANT GREEN STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO BY MERCIER (stamp-signed [as "successor to Cuzin"] on the front turn-in), the covers with a large central filigree lozenge framed in the Romantic style in black and gilt, the smooth spine similarly decorated, very attractive salmon pink watered silk doublures framed by wide densely gilt dentelles, free endpapers covered in the same watered silk, all edges gilt. In a (rather toned and slightly worn) marbled slipcase. WITH AN ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR BY FRANÇOIS COURBOIN, signed by the artist along the lower right, and 25 hand-colored prints by Courboin in the text, with printed tissue guards. A Large Paper Copy. Carteret V, p. 21. Spine uniformly sunned to tan (as expected), but the binding especially lustrous and entirely unworn; faint offset from the illustration onto the half title, but very clean and fresh, with immense margins, and with almost no signs of use.
A visual delight inside and out, this is a bibliophile's copy of Balzac's slice-of-life classic, luxuriously illustrated (including with an original watercolor) and in a beautifully decorated binding. The gently humorous tale here follows a "man of science" as he attempts to make a dinner engagement, but gets distracted by the tempting booksellers along the Seine and an argument with a professional rival. The binding is part of an important French tradition: the work of the binder Cuzin, who died in 1890, was so well known and so highly esteemed that he was responsible for establishing what was called the "Cuzin style." Devauchelle says that the Cuzin tradition was sustained in its finest form by his celebrated successor Emile Mercier, who signed bindings from this period (including the present work) "Mercier s[uccesseu]r de Cuzin." Beyond the binding, the illustrations here provide a second highlight, as the engraver, librarian, and print historian François Courboin (1865-1926) provides a depiction of Paris and its inhabitants in the first quarter of the 19th century. The original watercolor on the half-title depicts the world-weary main character seated in an overstuffed chair in his night cap, with slippered feet, being served a cup of tea. Both the watercolor and the printed illustrations in the text are done with soft, pleasing colors by an extremely careful hand.. (Inventory #: ST19567-188)
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