1950 Alfred de Musset POÉSIES NOUVELLES Hand-Painted Vellum Art Binding For Sale

MUSSET, Alfred de. Poésies nouvelles, 1836–1852; suivies des poésies complémentaires et des poésies posthumes. Text established and annotated by Maurice Allem. Paris: Garnier Frères, 1950.

An attractive mid-century French literary edition, transformed by a distinctive, apparently unique hand-painted full vellum binding.

The unsigned binding combines traditional vellum with a highly personal modern decorative scheme. The spine is hand-lettered in black and red and painted with a small landscape of dark evergreens, pale mountains, and flowers. The front cover is dominated by a large diagonal inset-like field painted in deep teal, indigo, blue, white, and magenta, enclosed by fine red rules. The result is an unusual blend of traditional bookbinding material, landscape painting, and postwar abstract design.

Green and cream marbled endpapers; red-stained top edge. A neat early ownership inscription on the flyleaf reads, “Gijón, Summer 1951,” placing the copy in northern Spain within a year of publication.

Alfred de Musset was a central figure of French Romanticism. This Garnier edition, prepared by Maurice Allem, gathers Musset’s mature verse of 1836–1852 along with supplementary and posthumous poems.

Very Good to Near Fine.

The vellum binding is clean and appealing, with light overall mellowing and minor handling wear, chiefly at the spine ends and edges. The painted decoration remains vivid and intact, with no notable flaking or loss. Binding sound.

Internally fresh and clean, with bright paper, attractive marbled endpapers, and red top edge. Early 1951 Gijón inscription as noted.

Please examine all photographs carefully, as they show the exact copy offered and form part of the condition description.

A handsome, one-of-a-kind decorative copy of Musset—especially appealing to collectors of painted vellum bindings, French Romantic literature, and mid-century European book art.