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an old book with a red cover sitting on top of a white surfacean old book with a drawing of a woman sitting on a benchan open book with a drawing of a woman sitting on the ground
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Estimate €2,400 - €3,600
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Description
Bindings Ronsard, Pierre de Quelques Sonnets. Paris, Dunoyer de Segonzac 1955. With 2 etchings, 49 etchings in the text and an extra suite of 49 etchings. Small folio. Hand-bound master binding ‘Reliure de Luxe’, entirely covered with a symmetrically arranged linear ornamentation. Curving lines in red, cream and a golden hue, arranged in large loops, criss-cross repeatedly to form interlocking ovals grouped around a central vertical axis. This enclosed, rhythmic linework is reminiscent of decorative motifs from Art Nouveau or Art Deco and lends the surface a lively yet extremely orderly effect. Signed ‘Gras’. In a chemise and a lined slipcase. Liore/Cailler 1270–1320. – Monod 9925. – Rauch 123. – Strachan p. 342. – Fléty (1975), 92–95 (Gras). - A magnificent special edition in a hand-bound volume by Madeleine Gras, featuring a symmetrically arranged, interlaced oval line ornament, comprising a total of 100 etchings from a run of 40 copies on vélin, with an additional suite on Japanese paper featuring the remarkable etchings by Dunoyer de Segonzac. This bibliophile edition brings together a selection of the most famous sonnets by the ‘Prince of Poets’, Pierre de Ronsard (1524–1585), the undisputed master of French Renaissance lyric poetry. The texts – for example, from the *Amours* dedicated to Cassandre Salviati and Marie Dupin – celebrate the ecstasy and transience of love in perfect metre and vivid language, employing Petrarchan motifs and Platonic sensuality. “I have chosen Pierre de Ronsard, whose extreme sensitivity, unpretentious elegance and discreet sensuality have deeply moved me since my youth.” (A. Dunoyer de Segonzac in the summer of 1967 on these etchings; see Liore/Cailler). Madeleine Gras, a pupil of Rose Adler, ranks among the ‘Grandes Relieureuses’ of the 20th century. Her style combines classical elegance with modern abstraction: delicate gold fillets, harmonious colour gradients, often featuring floral or geometric motifs in blind and gold embossing. She produced bindings for artists such as Picasso and Cocteau, and for publishers such as Le Livre de Plantin. This binding – simple morocco with a subtle spine texture – demonstrates her mastery of an understated, luxurious aesthetic. – An impressive edition in a unique hand-bound volume. With an etched frontispiece (3 states), 31 original etchings, and 3 additional states in various conditions: ‘l’état en noir avec remarques, l’état en sanguine avec remarques, l’état terminé’. With a handwritten dedication by Lobel Riche. Ex Libris G.M.O. Barclay. – A copy of the special edition of 40 copies on Japon Imperial, featuring the remarkable original erotic etchings by Alméry Lobel-Riche. He is regarded as one of the leading illustrators of the interwar period. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and influenced by Orientalist and exotic motifs (his travels in Africa), he developed an unmistakable style from 1910 onwards: elegant lines, sensual… With a handwritten dedication by Lobel-Riche. Ex Libris G.M.O. Barclay. – A copy of the deluxe edition of 40 copies on Japon Impérial, featuring the remarkable original erotic etchings by Alméry Lobel-Riche. He is regarded as one of the leading illustrators of the interwar period. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and influenced by Orientalist and exotic motifs (his travels in Africa), he developed an unmistakable style from 1910 onwards: elegant line work, sensual body forms, dramatic contrasts of light and shadow – a synthesis of Art Déco, Baroque and Decadence. His etchings for *Les luxures* (1929) mark the pinnacle of his erotic book art: the nude figures embody Rollinat’s ‘luxuries’ as neurotic desire, with sensual curves reminiscent of Mucha and Bakst, yet more earthy and psychological. – Splendid prints with nuanced impressions. Rollinat, a Symbolist and Decadent, presents here excerpts from his cycle on erotic compulsions and spiritual torments: women in ecstatic or desperate moments of desire, trapped in carnal obsessions. Themes include voluptuous illusions mingling with madness and transience—typical of the era from Baudelaire to Huysmans. The language is vivid and hypnotic: ‘luxuries’ as demonic urges that tear body and soul apart. Short, feverish prose pieces perfectly frame Lobel-Riche’s sensual nudes, creating an atmosphere of forbidden intimacy and neurotic longing. The endpapers feature hand-made marbled paper.
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
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