Les Quatre Saisons [ARTIST BOOK - Judith Rothchild]

Number 8 of 35, quarto size, [22] pp., signed by Judith Rothchild, text in French. Charles Cros (1842-1888) was a French poet and scientific inventor. His proposals and theories about color photography and the phonograph were published almost simultaneously with those of Louis Ducos du Hauron and Thomas Edison. Cros did not devotedly belong to any fixed group or school, but was friends with poets such as Verlaine and Rimbaud, and frequented the salons of both the Symbolists and the Décadents. In 1874 he published Le Fleuve, a long poem in alexandrine verse, illustrated with watercolors by Édouard Manet. His bohemian lifestyle and lifelong devotion to absinthe helped to degrade his health, and at the time of his death in 1888 most of his work remained unpublished. The four poems of Les Quatre Saisons were first published in Le Coffret de Santal in 1873, and earned the poet the Juglar Prize, one of the few points of recognition Cros received during his lifetime. Judith Rothchild's four mezzotints appropriately illustrate the emotion of the artist while also emphasizing the "season" both of nature and of the heart expressed in each poem; asparagus buds for spring, "wheat" that appears wind blown for summer, a split chestnut for autumn, and a "flame" for winter. ___DESCRIPTION: Original black Somerset Velvet paper wrappers silk screened by the artist in shades of green and brown, title and author blind-embossed to the spine, matching design in blind to endpapers, housed in a green paper slipcase with similar silk screened design of black and blue, signatures loose as issued, four mezzotints, please note that all text is in French; Vendome Romaine type, Hahnemuhle paper, quarto size (10 5/16" by 8 1/2"), unpaginated with [22] pp., limited edition, this number 8 of 35, signed by Judith Rothchild. ___CONDITION: Fine overall, the outer paper wrapper clean and the colours deep (not sunned), the interior signatures clean and bright, and free of prior owner markings; a hint of wear to the wrap where it was creased to form the spine, else fine; in a fine slipcase. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.…