Jouve and Schmied, 1930

JOUVE, Paul (1878-1973), illustrator and SCHMIED, François-Louis (1873-1941), designer. LOTI, Pierre (1850-1923). Un Pèlerin d'Angkor. Paris: Chez Paul Jouve et chez François-Louis Schmied, 1930.

Beautiful collaboration between Schmied and Jouve, in a fine binding by Georges Levitsky incorporating painted silk endleaves after Jouve. Limited edition, signed by the artists, no. 113 of 225 copies. Jouve spent three months in Angkor in 1922, and brought back hundreds of sketches which would be developed for this work. The upper endleaf depicts a peacock and the lower depicts a classical Khmer sculpture with three cobras. Ray, Art Deco Book in France, p 55.

Quarto (325 x 245mm). 10 single-page and 2 double-page wood-engraved plates colored in pochoir and gilt, and 68 initials, head- and tail-pieces and decorations. Full crushed crimson morocco by Georges Levitsky, stamped in gilt and blind, spine in five compartments with raised bands, board edges gilt, tan morocco doublures with onlaid pattern in gilt and four colors of morocco, stamp-signed by Levitsky on the upper turn-in, both upper and lower silk flyleaves with pochoir repetitions of Jouve's illustrations, plus wide and colorful geometric borders; original wrappers bound in; morocco-edged chemise and fleece-lined slipcase (minor scuffs/sun to chemise and slipcase).