GRASSET (Eugène). - Lot 76

GRASSET (Eugène). Les Mois. Paris : G. de Malherbe, [1896]. - Album in-4, 326 x 265 : (13 ff.), printed cover. Blue half cloth with corners à la Bradel, smooth spine, printed cover (E. Carayon). Original edition of this sumptuous calendar, designed by Swiss-born poster artist, painter and engraver Eugène-Samuel Grasset (1845-1917) for the famous Parisian ready-to-wear store "La Belle Jardinière". This masterpiece, emblematic of the Art Nouveau style, consists of twelve color plates, wood-engraved and printed in chromotypography. Each depicts an allegorical female figure, elegantly dressed according to the season and associated with the corresponding sign of the zodiac. Designed to promote women's clothing, this calendar was not sold, but offered free of charge to customers at the checkout. Grasset, concerned with the artistic quality of this publication, exhibited the original watercolors at the Salon de la Société nationale des beaux-arts, thus underlining the importance he attached to it. A precious copy, complete with printed cover and enriched with the rare insert stating "Offered by La Belle Jardinière", framed by a typically Art Nouveau floral motif. This insert, together with the twelve plates, has been glued on wove paper and mounted on tabs. The copy is further enhanced by the suite avant la lettre of each plate, in in-4 format on glossy paper, also mounted on tabs. Reliure signed Carayon, in excellent condition, with only a few light freckles on the suite avant la lettre.