Apollinaire, Guillaume

Le Bestiaire; ou, Cortège d'Orphée.  Paris: Deplanche, 1911



4to (12 3/4 x 9 7/8 in.; 323 x 251 mm).  30 woodcut plates, title-vignette, 2 headpieces and 4 decorative initials, all printed in black, by Raoul Dufy, original vellum wrappers bound in; offsetting from plates (not affecting images), offsetting from vellum on half-title and colophon (not affecting signatures).  Half brown morocco, marbled boards, top edges gilt, marbled endpapers; some wear to corners and extremities.

Edith Wetmore (bookplate)

Artist & the Book 91; Castleman Century 119; Garvey Arts 9; Manet to Hockney 27; Perez-Tibi Dufy 27; Rauch 43; Ray French 392

4to (12 3/4 x 9 7/8 in.; 323 x 251 mm). 30 woodcut plates, title-vignette, 2 headpieces and 4 decorative initials, all printed in black, by Raoul Dufy, original vellum wrappers bound in; offsetting from plates (not affecting images), offsetting from vellum on half-title and colophon (not affecting signatures). Half brown morocco, marbled boards, top edges gilt, marbled endpapers; some wear to corners and extremities.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Copy 65 of 91 copies on hollande (of a whole edition of 120), signed by Apollinaire and Dufy.

The Apollinaire/Dufy Bestiaire "may be considered the first monumental French illustrated book of the twentieth century" (Garvey).  In this close collaboration of poet and painter, "Dufy took the lead in designing the book, which more than any other mimics block books of the fifteenth century, thereby providing an emblematic context for Apollinaire's homilies" (Castleman).  At the time Dufy was creating these woodcuts, he was designing magnificent textiles for Paul Poiret in a studio the couturier set up for him in the Blvd. de Clichy.  These woodcuts resemble Dufy's textile designs of 1911.

Included in this lot are 3 woodcuts by Dufy from the same period:

La Danse.  Woodcut on india paper (print: 12 1/4 x 12 1/2 in.; 310 x 318 mm; sheet: 15 5/8 x 15 1/4 in.; 397 x 388 mm), Paris, 1910–11, numbered (63/100) and signed ("Raoul Dufy") lower left and right — 2 untitled woodcuts on hollande paper (prints: 8 1/8 x 7 5/8 in.; 206 x 193 mm; sheets: 11 1/2 x 9 in.; 292 x 228 mm); tipped onto stiff card, some light marginal browning.  These two untitled images appear to be variant images for "Le Serpent" and "Le Lièvre" in the Bestiaire.