A FOLIO ART NOUVEAU BINDING ON AN ACCOUNT BOOK FOR JOB. Titled GRAND-LIVRE. GENERAL, NO 2, CIGARETTES JOB. (Accounts dated 1909-1913).

Folio 21x15 inches- a most unusual folio accounts book for JOB a French cigarette and cigarette paper manufacturer. Bound in full period reversed calf (a kind of suede leather). AN ART NOUVEAU BINDING- brass corner pieces, triple brass attachments to the head and tail caps, a fine red leather label to the spine and a red leather label within a brass frame to the upper board. Both boards with typical Art Nouveau designs in black. An accounts book of 199 leaves most with details of transactions involving the buying and selling of cigarettes- to various parts of the world including Algeria, Germany, France and London. The company JOB was the brand iconic for its Art Nouveau advertising posters, most notably those created by Alphonse Mucha in 1896, which featured a woman with flowing hair. Between 1895 and 1925, the company commissioned around 30 artists, including Mucha, to create advertisements. It is not known by the vendor who designed this binding. The volume appears complete in itself. The is some rubbing to the upper board and a small stain to the lower board- see photos.…