Fleurs de mal, illustrated
Jan 2nd, 2013 by houghtonmodern
This post is part of an ongoing series featuring items from the newly acquired Santo Domingo collection.
This week’s find from the Santo Domingo Collection is an extraordinary copy of Baudelaire’s Les fleurs de mal. Number 1 of a limited edition of 1000 copies published by F. Ferroud in 1917, this copy is extra-illustrated with additional prints of its numerous illustrations: wood engravings by Georges Rochegrosse and etchings by Eugène Decisy, from the frontispiece portrait of Baudelaire to the ornaments that frame the text throughout. It’s bound in full dark brown morocco and set in a decorated paper slipcase. What sets this copy apart completely, however, is that it’s cased with a companion volume of Rochegrosse’s original illustrations, with annotations in pencil to indicate their placement in the finished book. The title page and frontispiece of the novel and the original illustration have both been included below for comparison. Bringing this remarkable set into Houghton’s catalog required both a a bibliographic record for the volume of poems and a manuscript record for the volume of original illustrations.
Charles Baudelaire. Les fleurs du mal. Paris: Librairie des amateurs A. Ferroud, F. Ferroud, successeur, 1917. FC8.B3247.917f.
Georges Rochegrosse illustrations for Les fleurs du mal: drawings, 1917. FC8.B3247.917f.
Thanks to rare book cataloger Ryan Wheeler for contributing this post.