DERAIN (André) - RABELAIS (François). - Lot 233

DERAIN (André) - RABELAIS (François). Les Horribles et espovantables faictz et prouesses du très renommé Pantagruel roy des dipsodes fils du grand Gargantua. Newly composed by Master Alcofrybas Nasier. Paris: Albert Skira, [1943-fin 1945]. -In-4, 341x276: (1 blank f.), 187 pp. (5 ff. last 2 blank), printed cover. Beige morocco, boards entirely covered with a rich mosaic decoration of dark blue, havana, red and ochre box, underlined by gilded fillets, representing in the center a kind of amphora composed of geometrical elements (rectangles, triangles in the center with openwork squares and hearts) and zigzags, bordered on the left and right by symmetrical compositions, smooth spine adorned with the book's long title in capital letters mosaicked in red and dark-blue box, olive-green suede lining edged with a dark-green box listel, same suede endpapers, gilt edges on witnesses, cover and spine preserved, black morocco spine folder with flap bands, edged slipcase (Creuzevault). One of the great modern illustrated books, illustrated with 179 compositions drawn and wood-engraved in color by André DERAIN (1880-1954), including one frontispiece, one on the title, 21 full-page, 92 in the text, 34 lettrines and 30 culs-de-lampe. This is unquestionably the most important of the artist's illustrated books. This edition is all the more important for being so unusual. "In 1941, in response to Albert Skira's commission for a color illustration of Pantagruel, André Derain chose to return to the woodcuts of the early days of printing, when the line of the imagiers retained only the essential. To revive the spirit of this technique, it was necessary to reinvent its simple conditions. Derain therefore reserved the gouge for tracing shapes, entrusting untouched surfaces with the task of carrying colors. Roger Lacourière's intaglio workshop, more familiar to the publisher and less expensive, was chosen to print such unusual plates. The task entrusted to four students led by Jacques Frélaut was to paint each plate according to the model supplied by Derain, using a mixture of water-based ink and turpentine, print in one go, clean the wood surface and start again for the next proof. At first, these kept the "combed" look of the brushstrokes, then Achille Weber, the Skira collaborator who had the upper hand on these operations, asked that the colors be smoothed to remove the marks of these manual interventions, which were repeated for more than fifty-eight thousand proofs over three years, from 1942 to early 1945" (Antoine Coron, in: Des livres rares depuis l'invention de l'imprimerie, pp. 270-271, n°221). Edition of 275 copies on Arches vellum, this one of 200 numbered from 51 to 250. A superb copy bound at the time by Creuzevault. Creuzevault produced at least one other binding like this one for the same work, with only a few variations, notably on the spine. It appeared at the sale of Maurice Houdayer's library on September 21, 2021 under number 117. A very well preserved copy.