Leather binding à la Vernier

Thin covers, purple dyed natural calf, vertical wavy lines embossed with etched zinc plate over the entire cover, semé of fine paladium embossed dots, gold title on the front cover; three-sided white gilt edges, leather endpapers; purple suede endpapers throughout; half leather chemise lined with suede, monochrome paper cover, slipcase with paper cover. Gilt work by Claude Ribal, Paris.

About the content:

Nathalie Sarraute: Martereau

Ex. No. 20 of 45 of the special edition on Vélin pur fil Navarre.

Edition Gallimard, Paris 1953 Nathalie Sarraute's second novel, published in 1953, explores a young man's obsessions with hypocrisy and the pretensions of the adult world. He takes an interest in Martereau, his uncle's devoted friend and business partner, who seems like a kind, trustworthy man until his possibly devious motives are partially revealed by his suspicious behaviour regarding a shady real estate deal.

About the artist: Louise Bescond was born in Les Lilas in 1984. She graduated from the École Supérieure des Arts et Industries Graphiques Estienne in 2005 and chose to continue her training at the École Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre (Belgium) where she obtained a Master’s degree in bookbinding in 2008.

In 2013, Pierre Walusinski helped launch her career by organising the first exhibition of her bindings at the Librairie Nicaise.Between 2015 and 2019, she followed a four weeks advanced training cycle in the workshop of Renaud Vernier, Maître d’Art. In February 2017, with the support of Pierre Bergé and Anne Heilbronn, Philippe Luiggi and Michel Scognamillo exhibit 47 of her bindings at the Galerie Charpentier (Sotheby’s Paris). In December 2021, at Librairie Métamorphoses, Michel Scognamillo exhibits 38 of her recent bindings. The catalog, Louise Bescond – Reliures 2017-2020, is prefaced by Fabienne Le Bars.

Louise Bescond lives in Brussels since 2005.