Bernardin de Saint-Pierre / François-Louis Schmied - Paul et Virginie - 1920

Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre

Paul et Virginie

Paris, Georges Crès, 1920
Octavo, 19 x 14 cm ; li-239 pp. 2 f.

A lovely illustrated edition of Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's masterpiece, here embellished with 17 compositions drawn and engraved on wood by F.-L. Schmied, including a frontispiece, 4 out of text ornaments, 6 head-pieces and 6 tail-pieces.
Edition with a foreword by Tristan Bernard, followed by a bibliographical essay.

Copy (No. 307) on Rives paper, bound in pleasant binding signed Le Douarin in a pink leather half binding with corners, golden brown paper covers, ribbed spine adorned with gilded small tooling and mosaicked, golden brown endpapers and flyleaves, gilded top edge, uncropped.

Well preserved binding, light friction on the caps and corners. Immaculate interior.

François-Louis Schmied, born in Geneva on November 8, 1873 and died in Tahanaout, Morocco, in January 1941, was a French painter, wood engraver, printer, publisher, illustrator, and bookbinder of Swiss origin.

He is considered to be a major artist of the “Art Deco” style, especially in the field of publishing for bibliophiles.