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LE TREMBLEMENT DE TERRE DU CHILI.
(Paris: Automobile Club de France, 1986). 335 x 260 mm. (13 1/4 x 10 1/4"). 47, [1] pp., [1] leaf (colophon).Translated from the German by G. La Flize. No. 41 OF 130 COPIES for members of the Automobile Club, this 8 OF 20 COPIES with an additional suite of etchings.
STRIKING POLYCARBONATE HINGED BINDING BY EDGARD CLAES (rear flyleaf with his ink stamp and pencilled signature dated 14 July 2005), covers and spine with allover design of stacked columns and boulders, taking inspiration from the etchings inside, the columns with even vertical sections in white and varying shades of taupe, the irregularly shaped boulders rendered in shades from fawn to tan to brown, all on a background ombré of mauve to indigo, inside covers of gray polycarbonate tooled in blind with the columns-and-stones design, brown handmade endpapers and flyleaves, edges untrimmed. Original printed paper wrappers bound in. Housed in a brown polycarbonate box with sliding spine panel with title lettered in beige, the sides with a geometric design that echoes the cream-to-brown tones and the columns of the binding, but with multiple diagonal blind fillets that suggest violent movement. Protected by a gray velveteen envelope with two Velcro closures. WITH EIGHT DRAMATIC ETCHINGS BY ERIK DESMAZIÈRES, two of these full-page, four double-page and partially enclosing text, and two borders for text. WITH AN ADDITIONAL SUITE OF ETCHINGS before letters, SIGNED BY THE ARTIST, dated 1986, and numbered 8/20. All etchings with loose tissue guards (one of these with finger smudges). Text printed in majuscules. With the menu for an Automobile Club dinner bound in at rear. Front free endpaper with red book label of "PLC" on front free endpaper. For the binding: Blaizot, Edgard Claes: cinquante-quatre années de créations, 1966-2019, no. 206. As new.
This is a deluxe copy of a 20th century bibliophile's edition of a 19th century novella set during a 17th century Chilean earthquake, offered in an evocative and striking binding by a 21st century monk. The devastating magnitude 8.5 earthquake that hit Santiago in 1647 provides the backdrop for the book's tale of two illicit lovers whose sins are blamed by fellow citizens for the devastation. They are attacked and killed by the populace, although their illegitimate son is saved and raised by a nobleman. First printed in German in 1807, it is one of many works by poet, playwright, and novelist Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811), a contemporary of Goethe and Schiller. The etchings that brilliantly capture the passion and the chaos of the story are the work of Erik Desmazières (b. 1948), considered one of the great contemporary printmakers. His work is characterized by extremely detailed and fantastical architecture, labyrinthine structures, and mystical cities with a Renaissance flavor--perfectly suited to the subject matter here. Desmazières was elected to the prestigious Académie des Beaux-Arts de l'Institut de France in 2009, and he has served as president of the historic Société des Peintres-Graveurs Français. His work has been the subject of 20 major museum retrospectives. The binding here equals the drama of the text and illustrations, but in a very stark and modern style. It is the work of Brother Edgard Claes (b. 1954), who is widely regarded as one of Europe's most technically proficient and stylistically innovative bookbinders. Originally from Achel, Belgium, Claes has been a monk of the Crosier Order since 1976, and he has incorporated the order's emblem into his binding stamp. He currently resides in Cujik in the Netherlands, where he practices bookbinding as well as sculpture and painting. His bookbinding is characterized by the use of highly sophisticated structures rendered in non- traditional materials such as polycarbonate, exotic woods, and automotive paint. Polycarbonate hinged bindings, like the present example, are one of his most important innovations. The design on the boards here, with its abstract boulders and broken-up columns, hints of destroyed buildings, and the slipcase evokes violent movement via the strong intersecting diagonal lines tooled across the neat vertical columns. (ST21133)
Price: $12,500.00