Cinq contes parisiens. Illustrations de Louis Legrand

A WONDERFUL COPY OF ONE OF THE MOST WONDERFUL BELLE EPOQUE LIVRES D'ARTISTE DEVOTED TO PARIS. Complete with 82 ORIGINAL ETCHINGS BY LOUIS LEGRAND, including FIVE FULL-PAGE HORS-TEXTE ETCHINGS PRINTED IN COLOR, all very sensual and some lightly erotic. Edition limited to 130 numbered copies, all printed on extremely fine Japanese paper. THIS COPY PRINTED FOR EUGENE LE SENNE (1863-1943), owner of perhaps the greatest private collection ever assembled of books, maps, and documents relating to Paris. His wonderful etched bookplate (depicting Parisian scenes, of course, with a large central view of Notre Dame) by Antoine Vanteyne adorns the front pastedown. Le Senne was responsible for distributing this book, and thus the following documents are bound in at the front: the retained copy of a letter from Le Senne to Louis Legrand, which accompanied each copy sent out; a SIGNED AUTOGRAPH LETTER FROM LOUIS LEGRAND TO LE SENNE, acknowledging receipt and thanking him; the carte de visite of Marie Thérèse de Maupassant (Maupassant's sister-in-law), with a manuscript annotation acknowledging receipt and thanking Le Senne. 4to. ELEGANTLY BOUND IN CONTEMPORARY THREE-QUARTERS CITRON MOROCCO AND MARBLED BOARDS. Top edge gilt, other edges uncut. Original wraps and backstrip preserved. Tiny traces of wear to extremities of binding, else FINE AND BRIGHT, with no defects.