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FRANCE (Anatole). The Elm of the Mail. - The Wicker Mannequi…
See original version (French)
FRANCE (Anatole). The Elm of the Mail. - The Wicker Mannequi…
See original version (French)
Lot no. 99
FRANCE (Anatole).
The Elm of the Mail. - The Wicker Mannequin. - The Amethyst Ring. - Monsieur Bergeret à Paris.
Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1923-1925. - 4 works in 4 volumes in-8, lemon morocco, PP in black in the centre of the second plate, smooth spine, framed in lemon morocco inside, decorated with a black fillet, silver brocaded silk lining and endpapers, double endpapers, gilt head, untrimmed, cover and spine preserved (S. Saintu).
New edition of these 4 titles by Anatole France.
Precious single copies, all printed on Marais vellum, enriched with numerous original drawings by the designer and poster artist Georges HAUTOT (1887-1963).
Born in 1887, Georges Hautot, a well-known illustrator, settled in La Ferté-Alais after his marriage to Germaine Fougère. Although he had little technical training, he was quickly appreciated for his talent, combining observation, fantasy, humour and finesse. His work includes numerous collaborations with magazines such as La Baïonnette, Fantasio, Le Matin and Le Canard enchaîné.
During the First World War, he denounced the horror of the conflict through his expressive drawings, particularly in his "Caricature de guerre" series of 1915. He did not remain inactive during the Second World War, drawing a caricature of Hitler in 1939, demonstrating his commitment to opposing Nazi barbarism.
The son of Jules Hyacinthe Hautot, he worked in the post office before devoting himself fully to painting, observational drawing and the illustration of popular and rural scenes, often imbued with humour and social criticism. His style, energetic and subtle, reflects his critical eye on the society of his time. It was also he who redesigned the Michelin Man, who later became the famous Michelin Man.
The drawings in this series of works were produced for and at the request of the famous couturier and collector Paul Poiret (1879-1944), as attested by an autograph letter signed by the artist and placed at the head of L'Orme du mail. The letter, one page in-4, is dated La Ferté Alais, 22 January 1927. Hautot warned Paul Poiret that "L'Orme du mail is finished and the others are sketched". The artist drew himself in bed, ill, held by his shoulders by death. At the foot of the bed is a palette and the work L'Orme du Mail.
There are a total of 423 drawings in watercolour and coloured pencil, 143 in L'Orme du Mail (completed in January 1927), 105 in Le Mannequin d'osier, 83 in L'Anneau d'Améthyste (completed in April 1927) and 92 in Monsieur Bergeret à Paris (completed in May 1927). The artist also signed each of the titles, as well as the last page, on which he wrote the date on which he completed the drawings, with the exception of the second book.
Copies in bindings by Simone Saintu, bearing the Paul Poiret figure on the second plate. She bound several books for Poiret. She was a close friend of Louis-Ferdinand Céline, with whom she kept up a correspondence.
Some browning and several spotting to bindings. Some foxing.
Provenance: Paul Poiret.
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