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Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
Malteste, Henri (1870-1920) illus. Anatole France (1844-1924) Le Miracle du Grand Saint Nicholas. Illuminated manuscript.
Paris: November 5, 1912.
Illuminated manuscript on paper, small folio; 50 leaves featuring handwritten calligraphic text decorated with three-line initials, gilt accents, and illustrations; vibrantly painted by H. Malateste in watercolor, including 5 full-page paintings, 11 text illustrations, and numerous head- and tail-pieces all done in the style of stained-glass window designs; bound in a custom full green morocco binding by Canape et Corriez in 1930, front board decorated with an intricate multi-color roundel enhanced in gilt, spine gilt-lettered, green morocco turn-ins ruled with gilt, parchment doublures, floral patterned brocade fly leaves, all edges gilt (boards bowed, flyleaves wavy, rear doublure parchment breaking and starting to detach); in a quarter morocco marbled chemise; with Louis Fricotelle's colorful book plate on a preliminary blank; 10 1/2 x 6 3/4 in.
This unique copy of Anatole France's Miracle du Grand Saint Nicholas was likely commissioned by French businessman Louis Fricotelle, a prominent connoisseur of Japanese, modern, and decorative art. He commissioned the work of differnt artists, with an emphasis on stained-glass, like the window he asked Henri Rapin to design for him in 1910. Fricotell's Villa de Caruhel in Brittany was sumptuously decorated and featured art created by participants of Paris's International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925.
Poet, caricaturist and illustrator Henri Théodore Malteste (1870-1920) worked under the pen name Malatesta, to avoid being confused with his brother Louis. They both worked for the magazine L'Illustration. Malteste also contributed illustrations for the Quantin publishing house, collaborating with other artists for Parisian Art Nouveau publications. Much of his work is inspired by the look of stained-glass windows and often depicts religious subjects all delineated with clear colors contained in stark borders. Fricotelle and Malteste's unified aesthetic and aligned sense of style culminate in this stunning production.
