About the cover:
Half-fringed binding Beige calfskin binding, edged on three sides, both covers covered with Japanese wood veneer and inlaid with blue, green and brown diamond-shaped crocodile leather, edged with narrow calfskin, smooth spine with gilt title, gilt head edge, hand-stitched endpapers, endpapers in Japanese wood veneer; transparent dust jacket, leather-lined slipcase with the same wood veneer.
About the content:
Albert Camus: La femme adultère (The Adulteress)
First edition with 12 colour lithographs by Pierre-Eugène Clairin
Ex. No. 281 of 300 on Vélin d'Arches, signed by author and artist,
1e livre de la Collection ‘Originales Illustrées’, 1954 The book is about Janine's discovery of herself and the world. Together with her husband Marcel, she takes a bus journey through the Algerian desert. In isolation, Janine finds herself in an indifferent, impersonal world that mirrors her husband, who is preoccupied with himself. She is alone and isolated. She must recognise the absurdity of the world and her marriage and decide whether to continue her life or start anew, i.e. leave her husband or stay with him.
About the artists: Jean-Paul and Colette Miguet are among the best bookbinders of the second half of the 20th century. They were active from 1951 to 1981. After studying bookbinding, decoration and fine arts at the École Estienne in Paris, Jean-Paul joined the workshop of the Bibliothèque nationale in 1944. There, he met Colette, who did binding and restoration work. In 1951, they set up their bookbinding workshop in the back of the bookshop La Renoncule in Paris. Their high-quality works range from purely classical bindings to contemporary creations.
They were convinced that the bookbinder’s cover design should never compete with the author or illustrator but should only interpret graphics and colours to perfection.
