About the cover:

Full-grain binding Black marocco leather, decoration with stylised royal figure in relief on the front cover, accentuated by brown and gold leather overlays and strong hand-gilding; Hand-gilt title on smooth spine, gilt head edge, hand-stitched endpapers, triple endpapers, light brown calfskin boards, black flyleaf reps and Japanese wood veneer, black half-leather chemise lined with dark brown split leather and covered with dark brown Japanese wood veneer to match the relief on the cover.

Gilder: A. Jeanne

This cover was one of 20 others shown in the first exhibition of the Société de la Reliure Originale at the National Library in Paris in 1947 (catalogue no. 258).

About the content:

Paul Fort: Rois de France

Ex. No. 117 of 200 on Vergé d'Arches, with handwritten dedication by the author

Private edition, not in bookshops

Typography Armand Jules Klein, Paris 1931 This work offers a rich selection of texts by Paul Fort, with his poetry and the endearing grace of the landscapes. He ignores no folklore and knows all the laments of the old days. He sings about the beauties of France, its provinces and legends, its landscapes, its heroes and kings, its attachment to the homeland. Paul Fort's poetry shifts from the best known to epic evocation, from popular song to the greatest poetry.

About the artist: The painter, engraver and designer Robert Bonfils attended the then École Germain-Pillon and, from 1905, the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (ENSAD) and the École nationale supérieure des beax-arts (ENSBA). Between 1919 and 1951, he taught illustration and design at the École Estienne. From 1850 onwards, he was friends with Pierre Legrain.

Bonfils took part in exhibitions at home and abroad very early on. He later organized them himself, particularly for modern decorative and applied art. He designed highly original cover decorations. They differed from those of his contemporaries in their naïve, reduced illustrative style, in which people appear in the form of silhouettes. His designs were executed by André Jeanne, Georges Cretté, Georges Canape, and students of the École Estienne.

His bindings were highly acclaimed, however, he only created a limited number of them. Robert Bonfils became a knight of the League of Honour in 1926 and an Officer in 1938.