Paul Morand / Daragnès - La Fleur Double [Reliure mosaïquée signée Franz] - 1924

Original edition decorated with a frontispiece featuring a superb original engraving by Jean-Gabriel Daragnès (1886-1950) and nine banners printed in bistre at the head of the chapters.

Bound in a beautiful binding signed by Franz, an Alsatian-born bookbinder, executed in deep green half-maroquin with corner pieces, gold lines along the covers and edges, a rounded spine decorated with a fine design of gold lines, cold lines, small gold tools, and a flower (arum) mosaic in red and brown leather. Gilt top.
Covers and spine preserved.

Limited edition of 840 copies, this one being number 400 out of 800 numbered on Rives handmade paper.

The situation of the beautiful Italian actress who became a man initially appears impossible and destroys all hope. The doctor's scientific report on his new human body confirms his new sexual identity. The excerpt opens with the declaration of
Zuliana to Lebecq, who initially makes a complaint with tragic overtones. In direct speech and through its length, it takes the form of a tirade expressing her despair and her inescapable fate. The speech takes on a tragic dimension when she says 'pray to the Bambino'—that is, the baby Jesus—'burn in vain' kilograms of wax for candles; she thus seeks the help of religion and God, praying for her to regain her female body so she can continue leading a peaceful life within the norms of 1920s society.

Condition: Leather lining at the corners and back. Minor scuffs at the corners and edges. Impeccable interior.

[Daragnès] Paul Morand

The Double Flower

Paris, Emile-Paul Frères, 1924

in-4: 25 x 19.5 cm; 52 pages. 2 copies.