FRANCE, A., Clio illustrations de Mucha

Beschrijving

Paris,Calmann Levy, 1900, 188pp. later very attractive half leather tooled binding, name of author, title and date of publishing in gilt on spine, marbled boards, leather corners with gilt tooling, marbled endpapers, vignette on title page by Alphons Mucha, 12 further colour illustrations of which 7 as plates. Some minor age staining to some pages. writing in pencil on free endpaper. Name in ink on first free endpaper J. van Beveren?, binding made and signed by Jules Karel (J.K.) Van West (1889-1969) who was a prominent Belgian master bookbinder, gilder, and teacher. He played a significant role in the 20th century in the preservation and elevation of the craft of hand bookbinding within the world of bibliophily. Van West was born in Ghent and learned the trade of bookbinding and edge gilding. Early in his career, he worked in Paris, among other places. Château de Belœil: For a long period, he served as the resident bookbinder for the prestigious Château de Belœil, where he maintained the extensive library of the Princes de Ligne. Teaching: From 1940 to 1954, he taught bookbinding at the renowned art institute La Cambre in Brussels. There, he trained a new generation of master bookbinders, including the celebrated master bookbinder August Kulche. Alfons Maria Mucha (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known in English as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist. Living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, he was widely known for his distinctly stylised and decorative theatrical posters, particularly those of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels, as well as designs, which became among the best-known images of the period. Mucha started to illustrate books around 1890. This is a good exemple of his work form that period.