Song of Songs - Schmied / Dunand / Cretté

Song of Songs

Translation by Ernest Renan (1823–1892)

Paris, François-Louis Schmied (1873-1941), painter-engraver-printer, 1925.

In-8

n°77/110

Lacquers by Jean Dunand (1877-1942) embedding and covering the boards. On the first, the decor is including two hinds in a stylized landscape with a gold background.


The back is in black Morocco with lining adorned with a geometric composition of brown, green, mustard and orange Morocco set with a golden thread. The composition is different on each inside boards. The endsheets are in golden silk, red on the back. Pages uncut.

Binding signed (G. Cretté succ. by Marius Michel).

This piece is considered as one of the major books from Art Deco period and Schmied’s masterpiece.
The latter made the ornamentation, the composition as well as the engraving and the printing on his presses helped by Pierre Bouchet .
Each page of the book is adorned with compositions and drop caps, engraved and printed in colors, gold and silver, in a revolutionary layout which offers an entirely new aesthetic.
Realised by Schmied on the initiative of a group of amateurs, the edition was printed at 110 copies.
The beautiful lacquer on ebonite is realised by Jean Dunand after a composition by Schmied, who signed it on the front cover.
The lacquer bears the following signature: "Laque de Dunand “.

Provenance:
Library of Henri Prost, 1937, n°199.


We have kept the note for Schmied's bookbinders recommending leaving the pages uncut, and that of the envoi for the half-title and the medallion to be placed in front of the title.
Ink from the plates, mainly from the drop caps, has slightly marked the opposite page as always. On 32 pages, light brown spots may be due to the grease in the ink. Lacquer of the second board is slightly deformed.