Toulet, Paul-Jean; Carlégle, Mon Amie Nane, Leon Pichon, 1925

Large 8vo. 200 pages, 18 woodcuts and 14 tailpieces. Hand-numbered 332 of an edition of 500 on Arches paper. In a fine period binding by Levéque, half brown morocco with gilt floral decoration, over black and yellow marbled boards to complement the duotone woodcuts. Marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, near fine. Text in French throughout. Internally and externally the book is in fine condition; some light rubbing to the joints, headcap and boards’ edges, otherwise impeccable. Paul-Jean Toulet’s erotically-charged novel of the Belle Epoque, an account of the affair between a courtesan and the narrator. Toulet was a poet, the inspiration for the ‘Fantaisistes’ circle, and a translator of Arthur Machen into French. Carl?gle (Charles Emile Egli) was a Swiss-born painter and illustrator, a regular contributor to satirical journals such as l’Assiette au Beurre, Le Rire ou La Vie Parisienne, and L’Illustration. He also illustrated the works of Diderot, La Fontaine, Ronsard and Verlaine, among others. His stylish woodcuts here show the distinct influence of Vallotton, and, in his rendering of a Notre-Dame gargoyle, a nod to Charles Meryon.