Vérascope, Taxiphote, Glyphoscope

(Trade Catalogue) (Photography) (WWI) Jules Richard. Vérascope, Taxiphote, Glyphoscope. Paris: [Jules Richard], 1918. 24 x 15 cm., 72 pp.; b/w illustrations throughout, light foxing to ffep, the rest of the interior quite bright with a few pages slightly foxed, lower stitch failing, two central sheets loosened. Embossed pictorial cover a bit soiled, faded office stamp on front cover.

WWI was a watershed moment in the relationship between photography and war. Although earlier wars were obviously photographed, the smaller cameras and new film formats available during WWI enabled combat photographers and soldiers themselves to take pictures of the war as it happened. Jules Richard was a second-generation instrument maker who entered the stereographic camera market in the early 1890s with the Vérascope, a compact camera known for its durability and innovative engineering. The first model was introduced in 1893 and it quickly became the bestselling stereograph camera of the period. The large Taxiphote viewer and storage cabinet was equally impressive in design, incorporating aspects of scientific instrumentation and clockmaking to create, according to the Oxford History of Science Museum “the most technically sophisticated” stereo viewer ever produced. It allowed a viewer to load up to 25 stereographs at the same time and then view them in any order. This extensive catalogue advertises these items and an exhaustive numner of accessories for the cameras, development, storage, and transport.

Richard was also known for his publicity. This example, issued during WWI, highlights the Vérascope’s suitability for war photography. More than half of the photographic illustrations in the catalogue are from the war, including images of soldiers and artillery in trenches, German flags at Invalides, “une boucherie sur le front,” a convoy of prisoners of war, troops in Alsace and Northern Africa, etc.

With tipped-in notice that the catalogue prices were established “according to pre-war manufacturing conditions” and in addition to possible price increases, the company “may need to suspend or stop the manufacture of certain items.”

Single holdings of other Jules Richard Vérascope catalogues found in OCLC, this one not recorded.

See: History of Science Museum, “Recent Acquisitions: Richard Verascope & Taxiphote,” Sphæra newsletter (Spring 1999).

$500

1ere Communion 1933

(Fashion) Printemps. 1ere Communion 1933. [Paris]: Herbert, 1933. Tall 8vo (23 cm), [16] pp.; mostly illustrations, in stapled pictorial wraps. WITH: Au Bon Marché. Première Communion. [Paris]: Desfossés, 1936. Oblong 8vo (19 cm), [24] pp.; illustrated in stapled color wraps, with laid in advertisement for printed communion souvenirs.

Two leading Parisian department stores advertise their photographic studios and large lines of communion clothes and accessories, mostly for girls.

$75

Publicité Chaumet. SEP/ETE/REM.

(Advertising) (Transportation) Chaumet, J. Publicité Chaumet. SEP/ETE/REM. [Paris]: [S.P.G.E. Hachard & Cie.], n.d. (1943?). 4to (28.3 cm), [12] pp., [2] pp. typed list of advertisements placed through Chaumet, and a TLS laid in, from Chaumet, dated Feb. 16, 1944; trade catalogue with b/w illus. throughout, near fine, in embossed stab-bound wrappers, front wrap with minor damp stain at top edge not affecting contents.

In his cover letter the Monsieur Chaumet lyrically describes exterior signs on autobuses as “moving poster[s] that circle through the major arteries of the cities.” The profusely illustrated catalogue details other opportunities for advertising on public transportation, station kiosks and walls, trolley stops, and other sites visible to commuters. Issued in 1944 when the French Resistance was targeting road signs to confuse German troop movements.

Not in OCLC.

$250

La Femme Canon. Chansonnette

(Women; Human Cannonball) Clairville; Villebichot, Auguste de. La Femme Canon. Chansonnette. Paris: Le Bailly, n.d. [ca. 1878].

Sheet music, 27.3 cm, [4] pp.; pictorial self-wrapper. Lower edge worn.

Rousing comic song about a woman “human cannonball” and her marital life, likely inspired by Rossa Matilda Richter, aka Zazel, the first human cannonball. Richter’s pioneering flight took place in London in 1877 and her act quickly became a sensation across Europe, inspiring both waltzes and comic songs. Oddly enough, she founded an opera company in the US in the 1880s.

One record in OCLC, at the BNF.

$125

Untitled Lithograph from Pel & Ploma

(Modernisme) Casas, Ramon. Untitled Lithograph from Pel & Ploma. Barcelona: Obrador Gràfic Thomas, n.d. [1903 or 1904]. Color lithograph. Sheet: 29.3 x 20 cm. Blind-stamped “Pel & Ploma” and “Thomas.” Two corners with very minor creases, not affecting image. Very good.

A plate, loose as issued, from the famed Catalan arts journal, Pel & Ploma (1899-1903), associated with Utrillo, Picasso, and Rodin. Ramon Casas was the primary illustrator and marketed the magazine through posters, special editions, and supplements such as this one. His frequent subject was the “new” woman—modern, bourgeois, educated, urban—engaged in intellectual activity and sport.

Pel & Ploma ceased publication in December 1903; Casas and Utrillo started Forma in Jan. 1904. This plate presumably celebrates the New Year.

$150

“Femme éternellement belle”...

(Pochoir) (Perfume) (Orientalism) Mary Blanc.“Femme éternellement belle”... [Paris: Les Papeterie Glandières, ca. 192-.] 16 x 11 cm., [8] pp.; descriptive text and price list of beauty products influenced by “Hindu” recipes and secrets passed from Marco Polo to the Italian Renaissance and to France; wrappers with color pochoir print on front cover, slight discoloration on blank edge of cover otherwise very good.

Attractive pochoir design reminiscent of Léon Bakst’s orientalist costume designs for the Ballet Russes. The small printing house, Les Papeterie Glandières, had a specialty in pochoir printing.

Not located in OCLC.

$95

Grand Pensionnat de Jeunes Filles. Situation Exceptionelle d’Hygiène & d’Agrément

(Education) (Girls) Institution Belle-Vue. Grand Pensionnat de Jeunes Filles. Situation Exceptionelle d’Hygiène & d’Agrément. Paris: A. Breger Frères, n.d. [ca. 1895]. Oblong 17.5 x 13 cm., 24 plates (printed recto only). Plates printed by “neo-bromure” method (similar to an Albertype or heliotype) with captions; in pictorial wrappers, very good.

Promotional book for a girls’ boarding school located in Fontenay sous Bois, now a suburb of Paris. Fine views of the interior facilities, many with students at study and play, including classrooms, the gymnasium, the art studio, and the dormitories, as well as the expansive grounds (30,000m2 de parc) used for “le tennis” and “étude en plein air.” Extensive photographs of these activities testify to a growing belief in healthful outdoor activity as an aspect of the “complete” education of girls and a cure for modernity’s spiritual and moral ailments.

The school seems to have operated under the direction of Catholic nuns from 1893 through WWI, adding classes for poor children in 1904 and a free parish school in 1911. Transformed into a Francisican seminary in 1923, the building is known locally as the center of the area’s antifacist Resistance activities during WWII.

Not located in OCLC.

$300

Advertisement Proof for La Parisienne fin XIXe Siècle

(Advertising) (Fashion) (Etching) Jourdain, H. (Illus.) Advertisement Proof for La Parisienne fin XIXe Siècle. [Paris]: n.d. [ca. 1893]. Drypoint, sheet: 16.5 x 21.2 cm, plate: 14.5 x 19.8 cm., signed in plate, H. Jourdain. Trimmed, lr corner creased, very good.

Original drypoint advertisement for a folio of fashion etchings focused on women in the city. A nicely executed example, revealing the printing and ordering customs of the subscription model used by many Parisian art publishers at the turn of the century. Publisher L. Joly was responsible for numerous publications exploring modern, urban life, including Félix Vallotton’s Paris Intense.

This plate reproduced in the contemporary monthly, Le Livre et l’image (186; 1893; É. Rondeau, ed.) where the reviewer writes: “la Parisienne du boulevard et des lieux de plaisir parvenue à un type général d’une délicatesse exquise, qui restera au point de vue de la gráce ambiante, de la connaissance parfaite l’habillement, la femine idéale, comme jadis la Grecque, au point de vue de la pureté des formes et de la beauté physique, voilà ce que le graveur Jourdain a cherché à faire vivre…”

$350

De l’extinction de la prostitution: pétition au Sénat, session de 1865

Meugy, Jules. De l’extinction de la prostitution: pétition au Sénat, session de 1865 [...]. Paris: Garnier, n.d., ca. 1865.

Small 8vo, 71, 36 pp.; text followed by 36 pp. catalogue of Garnier Frères, catalogue pages uncut; in printed wrapper with advert, rear wrap abraded at corner.

Full title: De l’extinction de la prostitution. Pétition au sénat, session de 1865. Par le Dr. Jules Meugy, suivie du discours de M. le procureur général Dupin sur le luxe effréné des femmes prononcé à l’occasion de cette pétition.

$65

Les Maladies Sans Nom. Leur Guréison Faciles et Radicale Conseils aux Medales Désespérés.

(Sexual Health) Richard, Charles-Antoin. Les Maladies Sans Nom. Leur Guréison Faciles et Radicale Conseils aux Medales Désespérés. Paris: E. Dentu, [1877]. 6-1/2 x 4-1/2 in., 32 pp.; pink stapled wrappers, light wear.

Richard gives case histories of many diseases, some sexual, healed with either “gouttes régératices” made by Dr. Samuel Thompson or “Granules d’Arséniate” by Dr. Addison. Further research warranted into connection to other arsenic-based treatments for venereal disease.

Parisian holdings cite 46 pages [sic?], North American holdings only at Rochester.

$125

(Sexual Health) Aux Victimes de L’Amour

(Sexual Health) Bertray, A. Aux Victimes de L’Amour by Doctor Bertray Professor ... of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris . Paris: [Dupont], nd [ca. 1900]. 4-3/4 x 3-1/8 in., 8 pp.; stapled self-wraps, 1 mm closed tear front wrap fore-edge, else very good. Dr. Bertray will “relieve and heal what he bonhomie called the little miseries of Parisians.” A related edition held at BNF only, otherwise unrecorded.

$ 45

(Sexual Health) (Religious Orders) Sammelband of Five French Medical Theses

(Sexual Health) (Religious Orders) Sammelband of Five French Medical Theses, 1792-1793. Unbound pamphlets, stitched, 21 x 14 cm, untrimmed. Engraved headpieces, wide margins, some general darkening and light staining or foxing; dampstain affecting gutter of final two pamphlets, else good, sound copies.

A group of First Republic-era medical pamphlets published at the Faculté de médecine de Montpellier, under the direction of some of the era’s most famous vitalist physicians and chemists, i.e. Paul-Joseph Bartez and Henri Fouquet.

The final pamphlet, by Lion, is a rare thesis on sexual diseases caused by excessive or insufficient sexual activity. The epigraph by Voltaire sets the tone with the warning “L’abstinence ou l’excès ne fit jamais d’heureux.” [“Abstinence or excess never made anyone happy.”] Lion speculates on the effects of abstinence in the health of priests and nuns, at risk for “erotic deliriums,” visions, and hysteria. He discusses masturbation and admonishes against marriage between a young woman and an older man. Particularly interesting in the context of the French Revolutionary “reorganization” of the Church.

Only no. 4 is noted in OCLC, with one holding, in Wales. The rest, including Lion, are not recorded institutionally.

$500

1. Durand, Joanne-Antonio-Guillelmo. De atmosphaera quatenus physicum, chemicum et medicum spectat, selecta quaedam [...]. Monsepelii: J.G. Tournel, et primo Reipublicae [1792]. 51 pp.
2. Duhult, Francisco. Dissertatio anatomico-physiologica de systemate lymphatico seu absorbenti [...]. Monsepelii: J.G. Tournel, 1793. 41 pp.
3. Magistel, Gabriel. Collecta quaedam circa naturae morborum cognoscendae necessitatem [...]. Monsepelii: J.G. Tournel, 1793. 29 pp.; closed tear beginning at fore edge, p. 3.
4. Vidal, Joannes-Baptista. Quaedam circa naturae vires, et circa perturbationem virium vitalium [...]. Monsepelii: J.G. Tournel, 1793. 29 pp. Some footnotes in French. Partially a vitalist assessment of epilepsy, just over ten years after its first classification in French.
5. Lion, Laurentius-Basilius. Pensum academicum circa tum continentiae, tum lubricitatis morbos [...]. Monsepelii: Tournel Patris & Filli, 1792. 16 pp. Some footnotes in French.

Conseils et soins à donner à la chevelure. Traité théorique et pratique

(Cosmetics) (Quackery) Sœur Haydée. Conseils et soins à donner à la chevelure. Traité théorique et pratique [title from front wrap]. [Toulouse]: [Impr. de Berthoumieu], n.d. [1930s]. 10 4-⅜ in x 2-½ in., 64 pp.; some pen annotations, illus. stapled wraps a bit worn.

Lengthy promotional treatise concerning a baldness cure developed by “Sister Haydée” and her ersatz convent.

$45

La prostitution [...] et ses multiples aspects

(Sex Work) (Anarchism) Armand, E[mile]. La prostitution, son histoire, sa définition, les conditions de sa disparition et ses multiples aspects. Paris: L’en déhors, 1933. Deuxième tirage. 8vo, 24 pp.; uncut, stapled pictorial wrapper, edges toned and sl. worn.

A pamphlet in support of prostitution and a radical new sexual ethic, including free love and camaraderie amoureuse by individual anarchist Émile Armand. Advertisements on rear wrap and front wrap verso for additional anarchist publications on sexuality and libertinage.

We suspect that this is the first and only edition given that all recorded copies have the same stated “deuxième tirage.”

$150

Sous la jupe: illustré

Maindouce, G. Sous la jupe: illustré. Paris: Les Éditions du Couvre-Feu, n.d. [ca. 1933-1935]. 8vo, 115 pp.; erotic fiction illustrated with 28 b/w pls., most printed recto, some also verso; in orig. wrapper with color d.j., d.j. beginning to split at spine, edges worn, else very good. D.j. with misprint “Nombreuses illustrations sujestives” [sic] described by Pia.

Éditions Couvre-Feu was one of a number of imprints founded by Léon [a.k.a. Victor?] Vidal under the larger umbrella of his erotic publishing and fashion group, Société des Éditions Gauloises. Couvre-Feu specialized in pseudonymous fetish, sadomasochist, and bondage literature; illustrated with fetish photography by Studio Biederer and from the archives of Vidal’s other business, the lingerie company Diana-Slip, whose catalogue included anonymous fetish images by Brassaï, Kertesz, and Roger Schall.

Several editions bearing the title “Sous la jupe” were issued by Couvre-Feu between 1933-1935. They differ considerably from this rather avant-garde example and priority has not been convincingly established: one was unillustrated, another included extracts of several erotic stories with only scattered illustrations, a third was a promotional list of erotic publications, and an English variation was issued by Éditions Richepanse in 1935. Nevertheless, it is possible to match some of the “detourned” images in this artistic edition to others by the Studio Biederer and from the Diana-Slip catalogues.

Though recorded in Pia, P., Livres de l’Enfer, this version and d.j. seemingly uncommon, OCLC locates no holdings of this edition in North America.

$450

Radioactivo: Poderoso Fertilizador y Estimulante Para La Vegetación

Banco del Radium [Banque du Radium, Paris]. Radioactivo: Poderoso Fertilizador y Estimulante Para La Vegetación [title from wrapper]. Barcelona: [Banque du Radium] and [R. Cumellas], [1915]. 8vo, 8 pp.; in Spanish, some translated from French, printed in green, with historiated initials, near fine.

Attractive art nouveau promotional booklet for radium soil enrichment, from a period of explosive popular interest in radium. The text compares the “therapeutic” action of radium in agricultural applications to those in human medical treatments—combating unknown “infirmities” and cultivating new vigor.

Published by a Spanish representative for the radio-agricultural firm Banque du Radium, Paris. BDR was established by a friend and sponsor of Marie Curie, the French industrialist Emile Armet de Lisle. Armet de Lisle also published the journal Le Radium.

Uncommon, we locate no other examples of Banque du Radium or Banco del Radium promotional materials in OCLC or the trade.

$225

Instruction chrétienne pour l’éducation des filles

​(Maintenon, Francoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de.) D. R., Abbé. Instruction chrétienne pour l’éducation des filles, tirée des maximes de l’Evangile, des SS. Pères et des conciles. Dédié à Madame de Maintenon. Paris: Urbain Coustelier, 1687.

12mo, [26], 429, [6] pp.; engraved frontispiece, with engraved vignette and numerous head- and tail-pieces and initials; in contemporary calf, spine with raised bands, gilt stamped panels, worn and chipped at ends, corners, and front hinge, joints weakened but holding, interior good with scattered darkening, one brief, marginal worm hole, small repair to frontispiece. Contemporary ownership inscriptions(?) on front pastedown and ff, possibly 17th- or 18th-century; child-like ink lettering of Madame de Maintenon’s name, also possibly 17th- or 18th-cent, beneath frontispiece portrait.

Françoise d’Aubigné (1635-1719), Marquise de Maintenon, has been an object of popular fascination for three centuries. She was Louis XIV’s second wife and governess to his illegitimate children (later legitimized). The couple married secretly in late 1683 or early 1684, following the death of Queen Marie-Thérèse. Maintenon moved into the royal apartments at Versailles and lived there until Louis XIV’s death. Although her legacy is controversial, the Marquise was a skilled educator and used her position to found the first royal school for girls at Saint-Cyr. It opened in the newly built Maison Royal de Saint-Louis in 1686.

This treatise was dedicated to her just months later; a significant moment since it closely coincided with Louis XIV’s Edict of Fontainbleau, rescinding religious freedoms for the Protestant Huguenots, and for which the Marquise was publicly blamed (and mocked across Northern Europe). Her religious beliefs were a topic of scandalous speculation, since her father had been persecuted for Protestant heresies, but this book and her work at Saint-Cyr are evidence for her pragmatism. Her connection of the Christian education of girls to the king’s anti-Protestant campaign ensured the success of the school for a generation. The author’s arguments also reflect a shift in France away from secular girls schools toward religious education.

The present portrait of Maintenon presents another mystery, since there are no verified images of the Marquise as a young woman. It is likely that this is one of the earliest copies of a fictive engraving published by Pierre Giffart near the time of her marriage to the king. (See Henri Gelin, “Etude Iconographique of Madame Maintenon,” in Mémoires: Notes et Documents (Société historique et scientifique des Deux –Sèvres, 1907: 115-240.)

Institutionally scarce, OCLC locates two copies in North America: Northwestern and Toronto.

$950

Recueil des instruments de chirurgie orthopédie et mobiliers

[Trade Catalogue]. [Medicine]. Maison Mathieu. Recueil des instruments de chirurgie orthopédie et mobiliers: nouvellement construits ou perfectionnés. Année 3, No. 2 (Sept. 1908). Paris: 1908. 8vo, 16 pp.; illus. with photographic reproductions and technical drawings; orig. printed wrapper, contents neatly removed from staples, wrapper toned with light wear at extremities; additional plate and advertisement laid in.

Instruments of surgery, predominantly for amputation, and prosthetics. Add’l plate with 2 graphic images of an amputation.

OCLC locates no holdings with this issue statement.

$45

Publicité Divers

Publicité Divers [title from spine]. [Bordeaux, France]: 1939. 4to (10 x 12.5 in.), [112] pp.; cloth, spine with gilt title and date.

Professional? scrapbook album with approximately 90 vintage examples of graphic design mounted on 39 leaves, including menus; packaging for luxury goods and comestibles; personal calling cards; advertisements for automobiles and auto parts, textile, and machine companies; coupon books and stamps; and events, most for companies and brands in Bordeaux, many in color, all exemplifying French Art Deco design’s integration of bold geometries, angular composition, and modern typography. A majority of the examples are numbered consecutively from 162-244 with a discreet stamp. Gilt letters “C-L” on spine—contents loosely alphabetical, by product, not proper name (e.g., café, charbon de bois, chocolat, fromage, lessive). Many folding examples, most very good, some with areas of discoloration or wrinkled from paste. Album date is handwritten on first leaf in pencil, though some of the advertisements refer specifically to 1938.

$450