FINELY ILLUSTRATED WITH EXQUISITE LARGE FOLIO ETCHINGS BY ART DECO DESIGNER ÉTIENNE DRIAN

(DRIAN, Étienne Adrien) PERRAULT, Charles. Contes de Perrault. Paris: La Roseraie, (1922). Large folio (12 by 17 inches), original light brown paper covers, uncut. $2800.

Limited illustrated edition, number 159 of only 396 copies, of this adult version based on stories by the master of the French literary fairy tale, with 12 rich full-page etchings and five etched headpieces by Étienne Drian.

Perrault is often credited with writing such famous fairytales as "La Belle au Bois Dormant" ("Sleeping Beauty"), "Cendrillon" ("Cinderella"), "Barbe-Bleue" ("Bluebeard"), and "Peau-d'Ane" ("Donkey Skin") to amuse his own children. This edition, however, has been re-written and illustrated for an adult audience. It is the brainchild of Art Deco fashion designer Étienne Drian, whose pochoir paintings of Parisian woman graced the pages of La Gazette du Bon Ton, Fémina, L'Illustration, and Flirt. In addition to Les Contes de Perrault, he illustrated the novels of Jean Lorrain and Henri Régnier (who supplied the Preface to this edition of Perrault). This volume is enhanced by the inclusion of a story by an anonymous author, here attributed to Perrault— an ingenious risqué pastiche "Les Oeufs" ("Eggs")—written in 1912. Text in French.

Occasional faint finger mark, plates fine. A splendid copy in fine condition.