?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
Verlaine, Paul (1844-1896) & Maurice Denis, illus. (1870-1943) Sagesse.
Paris: Ambroise Vollard éditeur, 1911.
Limited edition, folio; copy number 210 of 250 total, one of 210 printed on Hollande Van Gelder; illustrated with more than 50 color text woodcuts; bound in full caramel-colored morocco by Deborah Evetts in 1977, with brown and orange morocco onlays resembling leaves blown by the wind, gilt-lettered spine, narrow morocco turn-ins tooled with a small gilt leaf at each corner, white morie silk endleaves, gilt top edge; with the original boards and paper wrapper preserved in a separate chemise; housed in a morocco-backed chemise and clamshell box; 11 x 8 1/2 in.
[Together with] A set of 38 proofs in various states, all in color and nicely housed in a chemise matching the binding; all 11 x 8 7/8 in.
This fine edition of Verlaine's Sagesse was produced by the renowned art dealer and publisher Ambroise Vollard, who championed turn-of-the-century artists like Denis, Picasso, Chagall, by commissioning them to illustrate limited edition books marketed to bibliophiles. His works gained commercial success after he shifted from lithographs to woodcut illustrations, beginning with his Imitation of Christ, which was also illustrated by Denis. In the Sagesse, Vollard's vision reaches new heights, as he encouraged Denis to illustrate in color rather than black-and-white. Denis requested that the engraver Beltrand print one plate in black and two in color, creating illustrations that appeared soft and almost hand-painted. The charming results are showcased perfectly in this lot, allowing viewers to compare the final woodcuts in the text with their earlier proof counterparts.
