About the cover:

Full-grain binding Black marocco leather, smooth spine, geometric decoration identical on both covers with many blind-stamped lines converging to the centre, light leather overlays structured with smooth and dotted gold lines in the form of large angles; spine title in gold; natural edge, hand-stitched endpapers, wide inner edges with blind and gold lines; triple endpapers: Mirror and flyleaf dark blue moiré silk with dark blue gold-speckled paper; dark paper chemise and slipcase.

About the content:

Pierre Louÿs: Contes Antiques

32 coloured copperplate prints by Sylvain Sauvage with the assistance of D.-A. Maillart Ex. No. 138 of 237

Éditions du bois sacré, Paris 1929 This large-format work with engravings by Sylvain Sauvage, published here for the first time, is the most representative of his Art Deco period. In these Contes Antiques, a very special woman appears, a slave, a wild Venus and natural beauty with black hair and powerful breasts and strong muscles, thanks to whom Louÿs can detach himself from his Bilitis songs.

About the artist: Jacques Anthoine-Legrain is the son-in-law of the legendary Pierre Legrain, who gave new impetus to the art of binding at the beginning of the 20th century. After his death in 1929, Jacques Anthoine returned to Paris and took over his father-in-law's workshop. With the appended name Legrain, his covers are often compared to those of Legrain, which he need not fear. True to the motto ‘A decoration must reflect the soul of the text as much as possible!’, he developed completely independent and magnificent designs. The careful choice of materials and finely colour-coordinated leather coverings are the hallmarks of his brilliant binding art, which he practised until around 1950. He was one of the six outstanding binding designers who founded the Société de la Reliure Originale in 1946 and in whose exhibitions he regularly took part.