Colette

Colette — marelibri

'COLETTE', pseud [ie Sidonie-Gabrielle COLETTE]. i eBiblio.com

L'Entrave.

1913réf. 21235391913. Paris: Librairie des Lettres. 1913. 8vo. Original cream wrappers printed in grey and red uncut preserved in a modern cloth slipcase; pp. iv 307 1 blank; book and inkwell device to upper wrapper and title; a few light stains to upper wrapper short tear to head of upper joint neatly repaired hinges reinforced; uniform light toning light marginal dampstaining mostly at the beginning small hole repaired and traces of adhesive to inner margin of front free endpaper and half-title; overall a remarkably good copy; presentation inscription to half-title in ink: 'A Georges Abric en temoignage d'une grande sympathie Colette de Jouvenel' see below.First edition in book form particularly rare in the original wrappers inscribed by Colette to one of the witnesses at her second wedding.Originally serialised in La Vie Parisienne L'Entrave The Shackle is the sequel to La Vagabonde 1910. Reflecting Colette's own life however the tone of the two novels differs markedly: if La Vagabonde celebrates independence and self-discovery L'Entrave turns inward exploring the ambivalence and quiet disillusion that come with love's constraints. In the intervening years Colette at the time of publication married to Henri Gauthier-Villars better known by his pen name Willy had married the journalist and diplomat Henry de Jouvenel 1876-1935 and given birth to their daughter Colette de Jouvenel 1913-1981. She recalled with characteristic humour in L'Etoile Vesper the double strain of childbearing and serial publication: 'The child and the novel were racing me and La Vie Parisienne which was publishing my unfinished novel in instalments was gaining ground. The child announced that it would arrive first and I screwed the cap back onto my pen'. Colette and de Jouvenel divorced in 1924 after she became romantically involved with his son their affair inspiring her the characters of Phil and Mme Dalleray in Le Ble en herbe 1923.In later years Colette was unsparing in her assessment of L'Entrave criticising its 'narrow ending' 'diminished heroes' and 'blessing tone'.Provenance: From the library of Georges Abric editor-in-chief of Le Matin and a close friend of Henry de Jouvenel. Together with Leon Hamel and Jean Sapene Abric was one of the witnesses temoins at the wedding of Colette and Jouvenal on 19 December 1912.See La Societe des amis de Colette online. hardcover

Henry Sotheran Ltd. · Royaume-Uni2 500,00 £GB≈ 2 985,86 €

DE LEOTARD, Genevieve, bookbinder COLETTEBiblio.com

Sept Dialogues de Bêtes.

1927réf. 12382Paris: Les Arts et le livre 1927. No. 8 of 40 copies printed on Annam paper a kind of japon of a total edition of 590. Illustrated with 50 drawings reproduced in the text and 7 original lithographs by Jean Pavie. This copy is unique with 4 original drawings for the book bound in and with guide sheets showing measurements and orientation in the text. 8vo. bound by Geneviève de Léotard in 1928 signed on the upper turn-in in full brown morocco with mosaic design at the bottom of the upper cover reflected at the top of the lower side and on the spine of triangular tooth like pattern of onlaid chestnut brown and light brown with six gilt and black fillets following the triangular pattern spine lettered in gilt turn-ins with four gilt and blind fillets highlighted in black with an inner border of purple morocco and a strip of chestnut and brown calf at the bottom and top edges of the upper and lower turn-ins respectively rich brown watered silk doublures with an inner marbled flyleaves of delicious browns gold and palladian all edges gilt. Housed in the original matching brown morocco edges slipcase covered in the marbled paper seen on the endpapers. Spine with some wear adn rubbing.Geneviève de Léotard 1899 was a precocious book artist. She began studying bookbinding at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1912 when she was only 12 with an emphasis on gilding. On graduation she worked with Pierre Legrain as did many of the great women binders becoming an independent binder in 1925. In 1927 she won the Prix Blumenthal and then became a teacher at her alma mater teaching many of the next generation of binders including probably Lucette Levy whose bindings are shown in this catalogue. De Leotard was adventurous and rather avant-garde in her choice of materials often mixing different skins and shades with perfect subtlety and her strong linear geometric style. Her graphic style was very crisp and her immaculate gilding and design skills were much appreciated by the bibliophiles of her time.Duncan and Bartha: Art nouveau and art deco bookbinding With original drawings by Jean Pavie bound into an Art Deco binding by Geneviève De Léotard Les Arts et le livre unknown

SOPHIE SCHNEIDEMAN RARE BOOKS · Royaume-Uni2 500,00 £GB≈ 2 985,86 €

ColetteBiblio.com

Dialogues de bêtes

1904réf. #17Colette Dialogues de bêtes Paris Société du Mercure de France 1904. Square 12mo. Half red morocco with bands spine with raised bands highlighted with gilt and blind fillets. Top edge gilt. Original wrappers and spine preserved. First edition of the ordinary issue following only 19 copies on Holland paper. Copy enriched with a first autograph inscription signed in black ink on the first leaf traducted in English : "To Gaston Carraud in friendly remembrance from the author Colette Willy." Followed by a second autograph inscription signed in blue ink on the same leaf: "To you now dear Philippe Hériat in memory of a cat and a dog who have become ghosts and of a young woman who has become an old writer Colette." An exceptional testimony to Colette's emancipation embodied in these two inscriptions separated by more than thirty years. Dialogues de bêtes is the first work by Colette to appear after the Claudine series published under the name of her husband Henri Gauthier-Villars. For the first time Colette allowed her own name to appear on the cover signing "Colette Willy." This text marks the beginning of her gradual literary emancipation although it is preceded by the dedication "Pour amuser Willy." In Mes Apprentissages 1936 she would write: "I was vaguely awakening to a duty toward myself—to write something other than the Claudine books. And drop by drop I exuded the Dialogues de bêtes." The 1904 first edition contains four dialogues to which eight more were added in 1905 and 1930 forming the definitive edition. The anthropomorphic characters Toby-Chien and Kiki-la-Doucette were warmly received and remain among the most emblematic features of her work. The particular value of this copy lies in the author's double inscription. Everything contributes to making it a singular witness to Colette's emancipation beginning with the recipients themselves. The first inscription is addressed to Gaston Carraud a composer and mutual acquaintance of the Gauthier-Villars couple while the second is addressed to Philippe Hériat whom Colette likely met in the 1930s when he played a role in Divine 1935 a film whose screenplay and dialogue were written by Colette after L'Envers du music-hall. The signatures themselves are also significant: the first inscription is signed "Colette Willy" a form the author used more or less regularly until 1923 after which she signed only her own name as seen in the second inscription. Even the ink used offers a subtle echo: first black ink then blue—this blue so dear to Colette the blue of Le Fanal bleu which appeared even in her inkwell and on her writing paper. The inscriptions are dated in pencil likely in Philippe Hériat's hand "1904" and "1938." An entire writer's life separates these two inscriptions by Colette in the same copy. Mercure de France

Librairie Jean-Claude Vrain · France4 200,00 $US≈ 3 752,35 €