Full-grain binding

Light-coloured box calf, both covers with a semé of printed blue flowers with green leaves, red circles and gilt dots around a free central field outlined in waves with blue leather overlay between gold lines, gilt edges on three sides, hand-stitched capital, gilt-stamped title on spine, wide inner edges, gold lines and frame of dark blue leather overlay, silk endpapers printed with dragonflies. Neatly crafted half-leather chemise, lined with light brown split leather and coloured paper cover, slipcase bound in with the same coloured paper.

About the content:

Gérard d'Houville (1875-1963) actually Marie de Hérédia: Le Diadème de Flore

With coloured woodcuts after A.E. Marty cut by G. Beltrand

One of 30 hors commerce copies of 280

copies on vellum

Société d'édition ‘Le Livre’, Paris 1928 The writer Marie de Régnier (née de Hérédia) was a talented and accomplished writer. She wrote many books under the pseudonym ‘Gérard d'Houville’. This book comprises 18 short and beautifully illustrated chapters. And as was so often the case at the time, these stories are almost always about love...

About the artist: Henri Creuzevault, the elder son of Louis Creuzevault, born in 1905, joined his father's workshop in the 1920s after a short apprenticeship, where he soon began producing marvellous bindings. His younger brother Louis-Claude, born in 1912, joined the company in 1933.

Father Louis retired in 1936 and the company was now called Creuzevault frères. However, brother Louis-Claude died in 1937 and Henri continued to run the bookbindery alone. From 1940 to 1960, he produced the most beautiful and exclusive bindings of the time. His designs were realised by the best craftsmen.

In addition to this activity, he ran a gallery, to which he devoted himself exclusively from 1959.