About the cover:

Full-grain binding Red marocco leather, 5 bands, all-over decoration on spine, front and back cover with coral-coloured leather overlays and rich hand gilding (sheaves of grain, ears of grain and BHB signet), standing edge gilding with double line, gilt edges on three sides, multi-coloured hand-stitched endpapers, ribbon marker, rich inner edge gilding, mirror and flyleaf in ivory moiré, newly produced: Half-leather chemise with five bindings and gilt title, Parisian marbled paper cover, simple slipcase with leather binding and covered with the same marbled paper.

About the content:

Théodore de Banville: Les Princesses

With illustrations by Georges Rochegrosse, etchings etched by Eugène Renouand.

Ed. de tête sur japon, Ex. No. 36 of 130, Librairie des Amateurs, F. Ferroud succ., 1904

Bookplate: Bibliothèque Pierre Morhange Love poem: (excerpt) ‘The hair on her sparkling forehead shines and her snow-covered breasts come to life and her lips open like bloody flowers.’

Three Gruel generations successfully ran the workshop founded by Isidore Deforges in 1811. In 1825, Deforges handed it over to his son-in-law Pierre Paul Gruel, who had learnt to be an engraver but quickly became familiar with bookbinding. When he died in 1846, his widow initially continued to run the workshop alone. From 1850 together with her second husband, Jean Engelmann, a renowned lithographer. From 1875, Léon Gruel, the son born of the first marriage in 1841, continued to run the company. Initially together with Edmond Engelmann, son from the second marriage, and then alone from 1892. The expertise and intelligence of the well-educated Léon made the workshop the first Parisian address for binding art. In 1902, shortly after the death of his wife, the ailing Léon moved to the south of France and left the business to his son Paul, born in 1864.

Léon Gruel owned one of the finest collections of bindings in Paris. He also wrote several highly regarded specialised books, e.g. Manuel historique et biblio-grafique in 1887 and 1905.