FRENCH Etching ~ RARE EARLY STATE ~ 1945 Book Illustration SYMBOLIST POET

Description: Paul Valery was an important French literary figure of the 1st half of the twentieth century. A poet, essayist, artist and philosopher, Valery was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature no less than 12 times between 1930 and his death in 1945. His last major work was the "Album de Monsieur Teste" published by Charpentier, Paris in 1945. For this edition, Valery created ten etchings to illustrate the work, a number of half page a few full page etched illustrations. The etching on offer here is one of the full page pieces and this is an early state from pre-publication from before the artist had finalized the image. The plate had not yet been cut down to final size leaving room for a panel on the right for the added artist's remarque of a standing figure. There is a pencil annotation in the lower right margin "3eme etat" or '3rd state' in English. The final published state has the copper plate cut down at the top and right side to show only the scene of figures on the street. There were only 225 copies of the book printed and this early state version of the etching is very likely unique. It is printed on cream colored laid paper and measures 8 3/8 x 6 1/2 inches, sheet size is approx. 12 x 9 1/2 inches. The reverse of the print is annotated with information about it. Very fine condition, has never been framed or matted and has no foxing. The National Library of the Netherlands has the limited edition book in their online collection and you can view the final state of this etching on their website at: https://www.kb.nl/en/themes/koopman-collection/album-de-monsieur-teste

Price: 115 USD

Location: Spring Hill, Florida

End Time: 2024-10-28T00:52:41.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD