MORIN, Louis. Auguste LEPÈRE, illustrator. ~ Les Dimanches parisiens. Notes d’un décadent. Paris: [Lahure & Wittmann for] L. Conquet, 1898.
Large 8vo (258 × 170 mm), pp. [8], 213, [3], plus etched frontispiece and 40 head- and tailpieces, all present in an additional suite of the prints only, bound adjacent to the relevant pages. Plus an original pencil drawing by Lepère. Contemporary morocco by Charles Lanoë with cover inlay of an engraved white stone, inked (now with transverse crack), wide turn-ins with coloured floral onlays, brocade silk covered endpapers, gilt edges, slipcase, original wrappers bound in. Spine lightly sunned. Etched bookplates of Léon Comar and Henri Marcus.
First edition of this lighthearted account of the typical Parisian Sunday, with superb etched vignettes by Lepère depicting picnics, rambles, cycling, drinking, dining and boating, complete with an original sketch for the first vignette, initialled by the artist. Number 50 of 250 copies. While Lepère is best known for his work in the revival of the woodcut in France, his immense talent in other media, including etching is attested by his many book illustrations. This deluxe copy, bound by Lenoë, has an inlaid engraved stone plaquette, evidently the work of Lepère, and perhaps an experimental or trial plate - its smooth surface has been incised in the manner of a woodcut (suggesting a soft stone like soapstone or alabaster) and inked. It depicts a tavern or dining room scene with diners, drinkers and a breastfeeding mother in the foreground. Carteret IV, 294. ‘Dernière et très belle publication de cet éditeur, très cotée... maintenant que le livre est très coté, on peur dire que c’est une des meillures et des plus pittoresques de l’artiste, la plus importante avec des eaux-fortes’.