BIG PAPER. ORIENTALISM. STRONG WATERS. BIBLIOPHILIA. "AMATEUR BOOK". OUT OF PRINT. ATYPICAL COPY. FRENCH LITERATURE. Anatole FRANCE. Thaïs. Compositions by Paul-Albert Laurens. Etchings by Léon Boisson. Paris, Librairie de la Collection des Dix - A. Romagnol, 1900. Later half chestnut basane, large in-8 format, smooth spine, gilt title. Large margins, untrimmed, (5)-240-(1) pp. on strong vellum - watermarked "Thaïs"- or on Chine, with the very fine etchings after Laurens in black. A rare and very handsome deluxe edition, contemporary with the author and the first illustrated edition of one of the famous writer. Edition under subscription limited to 300 numbered copies and one unique copy. Characteristic of the Orientalist movement, this text is also a form of homage that France paid to his mistress at the time, Léontine Arman de Cavaillet, salonnière under the Third Republic, comparing her to the great hetaïre of Antiquity. A curious composite copy, which we can only assume to be unique, as it may have been a working copy. We can only assume that this is a unique copy, possibly a working copy, which could be said to have been "pulled apart" before final printing, then bound later. Contains only one of the hors texte plates (printed on Japon). A few text-only ff. printed without the etchings (ff. 55 to 59). Some ff. with small splashes of printing ink (ff. 3), or ink discharge (press run?) (ff.109). Marginal press marks (poorly adjusted cutting and folding?) (ff. 48-49). Several etchings or pages throughout the work bear annotations in pencil - by the same hand - partially erased or, in the case of one etching, in pencil. or, for one, what appear to be corrections to the drawing, in brown pencil (ff. 208). There is a mixture of papers (China paper and strong vellum) suggesting a numbered edition of 40 copies on China and vellum, but there is also a different paper quality and a sepia-toned state of a plate on Japon (bound at the beginning) from the edition numbered 1 to 20. The cover, printed on heavily tinted vellum, resembles the subscription announcement with a black with a black engraving as a vignette. It is therefore different from the other covers. The justification for the print run is bound in at the beginning. Binding slightly rubbed and faded, some stains and soiling (cf. description), anecdotal light spotting on a few pages, small restoration to one page on China paper (page 18), a few small discharges from the engravings on the facing text (not serious). text (not serious) but nevertheless a good copy. Expert: Madame Aude de Sèvedavy.