Cinderella, Bluebeard, and Sleeping Beauty in a Gorgeous Tall Folio Binding by Noulhac

CENDRILLON ET LES FÉES. [with] LA BARBE BLEUE. LA BELLE AU BOIS DORMANT.

(BINDINGS - NOULHAC). PERRAULT, CHARLES. ÉDOUARD DE BEAUMONT, Illustrator.

(Asnières sur Seine: Boussod Valadon et Cie. 1886-87). 390 x 305 mm. (15 1/4 x 12"). [34] leaves; [42] leaves. Printed on rectos only.

MAJESTIC DARK BROWN MOROCCO, RICHLY GILT, BY NOULHAC (stamp-signed and dated 1912 on front dentelle), covers with elegant frame in the Romantic style, with acanthus leaves and myriad blossoms enclosed by multiple plain rules, dotted and dogtooth rolls, raised bands, spine compartments with central rose sprig framed by a spray of leaves erupting from each corner, inner dentelles with ornate frame featuring an entwined floral vine and ribbon roll, lovely jacquard endleaves of floral baskets woven in pink, green, and blue, marbled flyleaves, all edges gilt. WITH 74 ILLUSTRATIONS BY DE BEAUMONT (33 in the first work, 41 in the second) "reproduced in facsimile and printed in color by the Publishers." Printed on rectos only, on thick wove paper. Lonchamp, Manuel du Bibliophile Français (1470-1920), II, 361; Vicaire, Manuel de l'Amateur de Livres du XIXe siècle, VI, 550. Joints a little worn (though nicely refurbished), a four-inch superficial scratch on rear board, but A VERY FINE COPY--the striking binding with lustrous leather and glittering gilt; the contents entirely clean, fresh, and bright; and the margins vast.

This grandly proportioned bibliophile's edition of Perrault's fairy tales is sumptuous to the last detail, with lush facsimile watercolor illustrations and a binding by a leading French artisan. Charles Perrault (1628-1703) reworked traditional folklore into sophisticated fairy tales for the denizens of the intellectual salons of Paris, ending each story with a (usually cynical) moral in couplets. He is credited with inventing the fairy tale genre, and the Brothers Grimm--not to mention Walt Disney--profited greatly from his oeuvre. These two publications include three of his best-known tales--Cinderella, Bluebeard, and Sleeping Beauty--alongside the lesser-known "Les Fées.” Literally translated as “The Fairies,” but generally called "Diamonds and Toads" in English, this fourth tale features a pair of sisters who meet a fairy in disguise and are rewarded or punished based on their behavior toward her. The son of a sculptor, our illustrator Charles-Édouard de Beaumont (1812-88) had initially trained to follow in his father's footsteps, but instead became a painter, illustrator, and lithographer, working across genres and media through his career. He is best known for his watercolors and for his work to encourage the popularity of the medium; in 1879, he co-founded the Society of French Watercolorists with Jehan Georges Vibert. Benezit tells us that "as a watercolourist . . . his style is highly individual and personal, and it may be claimed that his work broke new ground." This is evident in the present artworks, where the characters--charming, comical, and terrifying--are depicted with graceful linework and gentle washes of color. Beaumont's artwork interacts physically with the text, which is sometimes obscured behind a painted curl of smoke or pushed out of the way by the feet of the optimistic suitors of Cinderella's prince. Beaumont had a love for historical weaponry (his collection was donated to the Museum of Cluny after his death), and he depicted the knives and swords in the famous tale of the murderer Bluebeard with an almost gleeful accuracy of detail that clearly demonstrates his interest. The imposing binding, with lacy detail calling to mind the decorations of the era in which Perrault first published these stories, is the work of Henri Noulhac. Described as "a superlative craftsman" by Duncan & De Bartha (who reproduce four of his bindings in their "Art Nouveau and Art Deco Bookbinding"), Noulhac (1866-1931) was born in Chateauroux, where he served his apprenticeship. He afterwards moved in 1894 to Paris, where he established his atelier at 10 rue de Buci and gained a reputation as one of the foremost binders and gilders of his generation. In addition to the binding and the illustrations here, the condition of this volume needs to be highlighted--the book seems to be fresh from the binder's atelier, untouched by any reader. (ST20745)

Price: $4,000.00