La Belle Poule. A l'Enseigne des Mille Pertuis
by Fay, Clark(1894-1955)
- Used
- very good
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Folder. Paper pastedown. . Very Good. N.d., circa 1930s. Folio, 39 by 29 cm. Eleven plates, including title page, housed in a silver folder. The artwork depicts showgirls and their patrons of the shadowy Parisian nightlife demimonde. The style is very much in the style of George Grosz, who almost certainly was a strong influence on Fay in this project. Here we see the lecherous patrons, generally looking like gluttonous capitalists, and the jaded, lewd showgirls generally in a state of dishabille. Coming across very clearly, though, is their solidarity with one another, and there is a strong whiff of lesbianism in their bond, although it should be emphasized that this is never explicit. The ambivalence of the pieces applies to other aspects of them and is in fact a source of their power. There is also an interracial element to the ladies, with black performers among them. At the time, the free and easy relationship among the races probably had a shock value; one wonders whether indeed this was one venue where racial tensions simply melted away among its denizens. The plates have touches of bright color, with the charcoal shading and crisp pencil lines creating an overall tenebrous, netherworldly atmosphere. Fay was an American illustrator who studied with N.C. Wyeth and became a regular contributor to "The Saturday Evening Post" and "The Delineator". He spent much of his career in and around Paris and London, eventually moving outside of Paris, then London, full-time. Scarce, with the only known copy, and this is of only a single lithograph of the set, at Harvard. Moderate wear and soiling to the metallic silver pastedown on the outside folder. Light soiling in the margin of the title plate.
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Details
- Bookseller
- White Fox Rare Books and Antiques (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 004181
- Title
- La Belle Poule. A l'Enseigne des Mille Pertuis
- Author
- Fay, Clark(1894-1955)
- Format/Binding
- Folder. Paper pastedown.
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
Terms of Sale
White Fox Rare Books and Antiques
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
White Fox Rare Books and Antiques
Biblio member since 2010
New York, New York
About White Fox Rare Books and Antiques
By appointment. Antiquarian and rare books with strengths in illustrated plate books, the decorative arts, costume, sporting, foreign language literature (in the original language), with growing emphasis on early printing.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Crisp
- A term often used to indicate a book's new-like condition. Indicates that the hinges are not loosened. A book described as crisp...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Plate
- Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...
- Folio
- A folio usually indicates a large book size of 15" in height or larger when used in the context of a book description. Further,...