About the cover:

Full leather binding Dark blue goatskin leather, initials ‘LP’ in gold in the four corners of the cover, five bands, title on the spine and LP gilding on the spine; three-sided gold edging, hand-carved headband, double gold line on standing edges and cap, magnificent mirror with light brown leather overlays and rich gilding with decorative stamps. Flying endpaper made of bright blue moiré fabric. Simple slipcase with leather reinforcement at the opening, covered with marbled paper.

About the content:

François Coppée: Poésies Copy no. 3 of 50 copies on Whattman paper out of a total of 177 copies. Éditeur Alphonse Lemerre, Paris, 1870

The book is a collection of poems dealing with the themes of love, loss, nature and everyday life. Coppée, a 19th-century French poet, is known for his emotional style. In his poems, he often combines personal emotions with universal experiences. The collection reflects his ability to express profound feelings in clear and concise images. Coppée's works are characterised by a melancholic mood that reflects on the transience of life and longing.

About the artist: Henri Marius Michel (1846–1925), son of the gilder Jean Michel (1821–1890), is considered one of the innovators of the French art of bookbinding. He received his training at the École des arts décoratifs and the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-arts de Paris. His works, inspired by Art Nouveau and excellently designed and executed, influenced the works of his fellow bookbinders. He acquired renown through exhibitions which earned him awards and through his two-volume book “La Reliure française” (1880) and soon was the leading bookbinder of his time.

His decoratively stylized flower ornaments were deliberately matched to the book’s content. In his workshop, he employed the best craftsmen of his time, such as Georges Cretté, who took over as Michel’s worthy successor in 1925.