Le Paroissien du Célibataire; Observations physiologiques et morales sur l'état du célibat
Paris: Librairies-Imprimeries Réunies, 1890. Albert Lynch. First, Limited Edition. 8vo.; 9 3/8 x 6 inches (238 x 152 mm); xxx, 294, [3] pp. Half-title, frontispiece, title with etched vignette within an oval on the title page. 12 compositions by Albert Lynch etched by Gaujean (signed in plate), each present in three states, with additional tailpieces and vignettes. Exquisite full red morocco bindings with fillets and floral motifs on boards, 5 raised bands with gilt lettering and decorations in compartments, gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, a.e.g. Hinges expertly repaired, chip at head of spine, internally clean with some edge toning, firmly bound.
Copy XXII, as stated on limitation page: one of fifty numbered copies on Japon; special edition with 3 states of each plate.
Armorial bookplate of Frederic Robert Halsey pasted inside first flyleaf.
[Carteret V, 190].
First edition of this amusing book dealing with the physiology of the true bachelor. Chapters focus on boudoir chats; on the role of girls, ladies and damsels in bachelor life; on subterfuges to be used with married women; on the psychology of women, etc. Note that 6 of the banners clearly represent Octave Uzanne himself, a confirmed bachelor who was only 39 years old at the time of this edition. But Uzanne here lays the foundations of his entire love life: taking advantage of women (other people's wives and unmarried women) rather than getting married. He would maintain this line of conduct throughout the years that followed. The frontispiece shows the author at his work table having the pages of his Paroissien du célibataire turned by a pretty lady.
This is the DELUXE EDITION on Japon numbered I to L (ours is no. XXII) which includes the frontispiece in four states: two on Chine, one on laid, and one definitive on Japon paper; the title vignette has two states on Chine, including one in bistre, and one on Japon; the 10 large and beautiful headbands, two states on Chine and one on Japon. Carteret advises bibliophiles to search for one of the copies that have 3 states of the illustrations as we have here.
Louis-Octave Uzanne, (1851 – 1931) was an eminent man of letters, a journalist, a publisher, and an erudite and avid bibliophile. In 1880 he founded the monthly magazine Le Livre and in 1889 he was among the creators of the Société des bibliophiles contemporains.
The illustrator Albert Lynch (1851 – 1912) was an esteemed painter and portraitist. Peruvian by birth and nationality, he trained artistically at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, under the guidance of Jules Achille Noël, Gabriel Ferrier and Henri Lehmann. A talented portraitist of women in full respect of the taste of the Belle Époque, he illustrated numerous volumes and won, among other things, a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1900.
Frederic Robert HALSEY (1847 – 1918) was a Wall Street broker and bibliophile, who amassed one of the biggest libraries in the U.S, which included a set of the first four folios of the works of Shakespeare and many volumes purchased from the estate of Robert Hoe. In 1915 his entire library was sold to Henry E. Huntington for a price reported to be $750,000 ( New York Times Article, December 31, 1915). He was also an avid collector of prints, especially French XVIIIc. His collection sold in 13 sales 1916-19, by Anderson Auction Company in New York; the 8,275 lots sold for more than $400,000 and sparked much of the subsequent popularity of print collecting in the USA.
Condition: Very good+.
Item number: 1756
Price: $1,750.00
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