Sem

Sem Au Bois.

réf. 58074Paris 1908. Oblong 4to 34.5 x 39.5. Bound in original half green cloth over green marbled boards title in white to upper cover with the booksellers' ticket of Adolphe Le Goupy Lecaplain & Vidal to front paste down. Impressive large accordian folding panorama on 24 plates backed on cloth as issued measuring nearly nine metres in length in full colour with captions below. This example includes pasted to inside front cover a typed key to the 88 characters depicted on the panorama which in turn have all been neatly numbered in pencil by Sem. Overall 900 cm in length when opened. Slight wear at final fold. Overall very good condition. The French artist Sem Georges Goursat 1863-1934 built his reputation in Paris on his caricatures of prominent public figures. Born in Périgueux Sem worked in Bordeaux and Marseille before traveling to Paris for the 1900 Universal Exposition. The first work he published in the city was Le Turf a print album of instantly recognisable personalities at the racecourse. He began selling the album on the day of the prestigious Grand Prix race at Longchamp and his deft ability to capture the essence of his subjects made him a success. Even the people he caricatured in Le Turf wanted a copy and it quickly sold out. Sem revisited the subject of his first Parisian success in the Sem au Bois scroll. He drew the fashionable elite of France and their laughable hangers-on en route to Longchamp. The races were social events where central members of society were expected to put in an appearance. Sem adopted this obligatory parade down the Bois de Boulogne as an opportunity to gently mock the celebrities of his day caricaturing members of the aristocracy artists politicians and socialites. Although the individuals were not identified in the chromolithograph a weekly newspaper L'Illustration published a complete list of names in its October 5 1907 issue. The names have also been penciled in on the Gorman Rare Art Book Collection's copy of the scroll possibly by a previous owner who transferred the list from L'Illustration. Rare album conceived by Sem in collaboration with Auguste Roubille featuring a procession of carriages automobiles and other means of locomotion on which are represented the main personalities of the high society of the time such as King Leopold the Duke of Brissac the Prince of Arenberg the Baron and Baroness of Rothschild etc. as well as personalities from the literary and artistic world such as Henri Rochefort Polaire Mademoiselle Othero Willy Colette Robert de Montesquiou etc. travelling to the Bois de Boulogne horse races. At last.a copy identifying the characters. Very rare! Presumably listed by Sem who indeed features himself in the second carriage à la Hitchcock. Paris, [1908]. hardcover

Robert Frew Ltd · Royaume-Uni6 500,00 £GB≈ 7 795,63 €

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