281 - THEURIET, André. Bigarreau.

THEURIET, André. Bigarreau. Paris, n.p. (printed by Lahure), 1885. In-8 (20 x 13.5 cm), full cherry morocco, decorated spine, filleted edges, wide gilt lace framing the endpapers, bookbinder’s name at the bottom of the front endpaper. Gilt edges on endpapers. Cover preserved. 138 pp. Minimal scuffing along the raised bands. A very attractive copy, masterfully bound by Pétrus Ruban, one of the great bookbinders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A rare and luxurious out-of-print edition, printed for only 50 subscribers. This copy bears the number 8. Printed on large-format vellum paper (unjustified). The book is illustrated with 6 separate etchings by H. Toussaint, based on compositions by the Comte de L’Aigle. These etchings are accompanied by an early double-suite bound into the volume, preceding the final version. A short story by André Theuriet on the 19th-century prison system for minors and reform schools, published in 1884. A copy with wide margins, untrimmed, in very good condition, and well bound.