LECONTE DE LISLE - DENIS (Odette). - Lot 60

LECONTE DE LISLE - DENIS (Odette). Les Poèmes Barbares. n.p.: Le Livre de Plantin, [1948]. — In-4, 320 x 250: (46 leaves; the first 2 and last 2 are blank), illustrated cover. Loose-leaf, filled cover, publisher’s slipcase. A sought-after edition for its brilliant illustrations by the painter and wildlife illustrator Odette DENIS—her first illustrated book—featuring 31 original etchings signed on the plate, including 10 full-page illustrations. The work was published under the artistic direction of painter and engraver Almery Lobel-Riche and features only a selection of 17 of the 81 poems comprising the complete collection. The edition was printed in a run of 205 copies on Arches vellum, signed by the artist on the margin. This is one of 25 copies containing an original signed drawing by Odette Denis, as well as two states of all the engravings (in black with notes on Rives vellum, and the final state within the text and as a full-page illustration). The drawing, measuring 235 x 198 mm and mounted on vellum, depicts a superb lion’s head in profile. The slipcase is heavily damaged; the spine of the folder is missing. The book is in very good condition.