MEILHAC (Henri) - HALÉVY (Ludovic). The Grand Duchess of Gérolstein. Opéra-bouffe in three acts, four tableaux. Music by Jacques Offenbach. Paris : Calmann Lévy, [1887]. - In-8, 244 x 163 : (2 ff.), 139 pp. Soft ivory parchment, cover decorated with a Du Seuil-style decoration, smooth spine decorated, gilt head, untrimmed, case (contemporary binding, modern case). New edition of the libretto by Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac of Jacques Offenbach's opéra-bouffe, first performed on April 12, 1867 at the Théâtre des Variétés. One of 30 numbered copies on Hollande paper (no. 13), this one unique, decorated with more than 120 remarkable original watercolours by the Belgian cartoonist and caricaturist Jules Renard, better known under the pseudonym of DRANER (1883-1926). The latter collaborated on numerous magazines such as Le Charivari, succeeding Cham, L'Éclipse, L'Illustration or even Le Journal pour rire. He also designed theatre costumes, mainly for the opera buffas of Jacques Offenbach, including those for La Grande-duchesse de Gérolstein. His collaboration with Offenbach for this play makes this copy one of the most precious and interesting. A fine copy bound, according to a bookseller's card glued at the end, by Henry Joseph, Pierson's successor. Renewed endpapers. Provenance: Robert Nossam, with ex-libris.