A finely bound example from the limited edition, #372 of 1500 copies. 12mo. 53, [3] pp. French text. A collection of French verse by the poet associated with the Symbolist and Decadent movements, illustrated with chromolithographs by Serge de Solomko, the Russian painter and designer. This limited edition was split into five groups (see limitation page image).
Sumptuously bound in three quarter brown calf over gilt-edged purple marbled paper, four raised bands with gilt stamping to spine.
From the Collection of Herbert Marx Meyer (1903-1988), noted Detroit book collector who assembled a large collection of early 20th century literature, with bookplate of Agnes and Herbert Meyer to the inside front board and in very fine condition throughout.
Associated with the early Symbolists, Verlaine "wrote some of the finest and most musical lyrics in the French language" (Harvey & Heseltine, 738). First published in 1869, Fêtes Galantes reflects the care for form and objectivity characteristic of Verlaine's early poetry. The critic Jacques-Henri Bornecque called Verlaine's book a "petite suite"; it contains twenty-two poems, mostly quite brief, representing varied scenes or encounters ranging from tender to ironic, inspired by Antoine Watteau's Fête galante paintings.
Fêtes Galantes is also a cycle of six mélodies composed by Claude Debussy over several years, and were premiered in 1904. Debussy, a lifelong admirer of Verlaine's poetry, had taken a copy of the collection with him when he went to study in Rome in 1885. Although other composers, from Gabriel Fauré to Benjamin Britten set Verlaine's poetry, Debussy, according to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, was the first composer of any importance to do so.
A finely bound example from the limited edition, #372 of 1500 copies. 12mo. 53, [3] pp. French text. A collection of French verse by the poet associated with the Symbolist and Decadent movements, illustrated with chromolithographs by Serge de Solomko, the Russian painter and designer. This limited edition was split into five groups (see limitation page image).
Sumptuously bound in three quarter brown calf over gilt-edged purple marbled paper, four raised bands with gilt stamping to spine.
From the Collection of Herbert Marx Meyer (1903-1988), noted Detroit book collector who assembled a large collection of early 20th century literature, with bookplate of Agnes and Herbert Meyer to the inside front board and in very fine condition throughout.
Associated with the early Symbolists, Verlaine "wrote some of the finest and most musical lyrics in the French language" (Harvey & Heseltine, 738). First published in 1869, Fêtes Galantes reflects the care for form and objectivity characteristic of Verlaine's early poetry. The critic Jacques-Henri Bornecque called Verlaine's book a "petite suite"; it contains twenty-two poems, mostly quite brief, representing varied scenes or encounters ranging from tender to ironic, inspired by Antoine Watteau's Fête galante paintings.
Fêtes Galantes is also a cycle of six mélodies composed by Claude Debussy over several years, and were premiered in 1904. Debussy, a lifelong admirer of Verlaine's poetry, had taken a copy of the collection with him when he went to study in Rome in 1885. Although other composers, from Gabriel Fauré to Benjamin Britten set Verlaine's poetry, Debussy, according to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, was the first composer of any importance to do so.