BARBIER (George) - SCHWOB (Marcel). - Lot 87

BARBIER (George) - SCHWOB (Marcel). Vies imaginaires. Paris: Le Livre contemporain, 1929. - In-4, 265 x 233: (6 ff. first 4 blank), XI, 179 pp. (6 ff. last 3 blank), 13 plates, filled cover. Leaves, in publisher's folder and slipcase. Remarkable illustrated edition of this text by Marcel Schwob, first published in 1896. It was undertaken by François-Louis Schmied and illustrated with 88 compositions by George BARBIER (1882-1932), wood-engraved in color by Pierre Bouchet, including 2 on the cover and 13 out-of-text. Edition of 120 copies on Rives vellum, one of 10 reserved for contributors, specially printed for Pierre Bouchet. It is enriched with the following items: - Menu for the dinner given by Le Livre contemporain on June 26, 1929, adorned with an unsigned composition by George Barbier engraved on wood in color by Bouchet. - P.S. by Schmied, giving the print run of the edition and the names of those for whom the contributor copies are intended. - L.A.S. from Schmied to Pierre Bouchet, 1/2 page in-4, undated, inviting the latter to dinner on Thursday. - 12 L.A.S. from George Barbier to Pierre Bouchet, 15 pages in-12 and 1 page in-4. Very interesting working correspondence on this work and, among others, on Bilitis. Cover slightly browned. Stains on front cover. Soiling to edges of page 35. Provenance: Pierre Bouchet.