Bridges of Paris by Edme Arcambeau
The Book of Bridges by Edme Arcambeau Bridges of Paris by Edme Arcambeau
Gowans & Gray, 1911.
First edition, one of 1000 copies. 4to. Green buckram with gilt lettering within decorative borders on the spine. The upper cover has a paste on colour illustration by Jessie M. King. Top edge gilt and others untrimmed. Eighteen colour plates in lovely pastel shades, each depicting a different Parisian bridge over the Seine. The text, states Arcambeau in the preface, aims to take you by the hand and lead you around the writer's beloved city. A very good copy, spine sunned, cover plate scratched, else a bright copy.
In 1910 Jessie M King and her husband, E.A. Taylor, moved to Paris, where they took studios at 16 rue de la Grand Chaumiere. Jessie had a commission from Gowans and Gray to produce 18 watercolour illustrations to accompany this book in which each chapter tells the story of a different Parisian bridge. Given the freedom to choose her own angles Jessie took her little drawing stool and sat by the water's edge, giving her a distinctive view of the bridges from below street level.
"She used a very subdued palette of pale greens and purples, with a little ochre for the stonework... the illustrations she did have an air of peace and stillness" (Colin White).
PROVENANCE: Bookplate of George Fleming, noted British collector of children's books, to front pastedown.
Stock ID: 40168
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