1888 Art and Letters April Oscar Wilde Canzonet Sarah Bernhardt Original Issue For Sale

ART AND LETTERS: AN ILLUSTRATED REVIEW — APRIL 1888Exceptional surviving original April 1888 issue of Art and Letters: An Illustrated Review, published in London by Boussod, Valadon & Co., successors to Goupil & Co., and in New York by Charles Scribner’s Sons.This is the original April 1888 individual issue in its printed publisher’s wrappers, not a page removed from a later bound volume.Of particular literary importance, this issue contains Oscar Wilde’s “Canzonet,” appearing on pages 46–47. Wilde bibliographies document Canzonet as appearing in Art and Letters, Vol. II, No. 1, April 1888.The issue also contains an extraordinary combination of late-19th-century literature, theater and art, including material by or relating to:Oscar Wilde — “Canzonet”
Sarah Bernhardt — “The Confession”
Guy de Maupassant — “Afloat”
Vernon Lee — “A Wedding Chest”
Georges Clairin
Aimé Morot
Édouard Detaille
Eugène Delacroix
Georges Rochegrosse
Charles Delort
and additional illustrated material associated with the Comédie-Française.Among the particularly striking artwork are military and cavalry subjects by Aimé Morot and Édouard Detaille, a period reproduction after Eugène Delacroix’s Duel Between Faust and Valentine, and an elegant reclining-woman composition signed Georges Clairin, the celebrated French painter and illustrator closely associated with Sarah Bernhardt.The publication contains numerous impressive full-page and text illustrations, several showing a clearly perceptible plate impression, as well as original period advertisements and publisher material. The colophon identifies the printing as:“Printed by Boussod, Valadon & Co., Asnières, 2, avenue de Courbevoie.”The original front wrapper is dated April 1888, and the surviving spine is printed APRIL / 1888 / ART AND LETTERS.CONDITION:
A genuine 138-year-old publication showing considerable exterior age and wear. Original wrappers exhibit toning, surface soiling, edge and corner wear, small losses/chipping and wear at the spine ends. The spine remains present and readable. Pages retain their naturally irregular/untrimmed edges. Interior condition is substantially more attractive than the exterior, with the illustrated material presenting remarkably well for its age. Please examine all photographs closely, as they form an important part of the condition description.This issue is being offered complete and intact. No plates or literary pages have been removed.A remarkable survivor combining Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, Maupassant and major French/European artists in one beautifully illustrated 1888 publication.