MIGUEL DE CERVANTES - DON QUICHOTTE DE LA MANCHA - MEUNIER - 1909

Subject: 20th Century Book. Cervantes Works. Limited Editions. Luxury Binding. Engraving.

Publication: Paris, Librairie Hachette, 1909.

Physical Description: 4 volumes in large quarto (29 x 21.5 cm). Volume I: Title page, 374 pages. = Volume II: Title page, 397 pages, 1 leaf. = Volume III: Title page, 415 pages, 1 leaf. = Volume IV: Title page, 423 pages, 1 leaf. Illustrated with 260 compositions by the renowned Urrabieta (Vierge), 97 of them full-page. Limited and numbered edition of 340 copies on vellum paper, this one being number 27. Original covers and spine preserved.

Binding: Exquisite "Art Deco" binding in four volumes; maroon morocco with mosaic of different colored leathers and gold fillets highlighting the drawings of the compositions (swords and lacework in each corner) on the covers and spines, these with four raised bands and gold lettering; inner covers with border framing in green leather and gold fillets, corner fleurons, gold tooling on edges, gilt edges all around. Each volume signed: "CH. MEUNIER 1913"

Charles Meunier (1865-1948) is one of the most influential French bookbinders of his time. His talent is reflected in the elegance of his works. His most significant contribution is the introduction of the binding known as "emblématique."

UNIQUE COPY: In addition to the 260 Vierge compositions, it has been enriched with 102 original chalcographic engravings from the period:

19th Century: 2 portraits of Cervantes and 69 engraved plates "avant la lettre" on Japan paper, signed: Ricardo De los Ríos, and Adolphe Lalauze.

Ricardo de los Ríos (1846-1929) was a prominent Spanish etcher and painter, internationally recognized for his mastery in interpretive engraving. Trained in Paris, he received numerous awards and medals at European exhibitions. In Spain, he was a professor of engraving in Madrid and left an important legacy in the recovery of Goya's "Tauromaquia." He excelled at interpreting etchings of great painters, although he also created original works.

18th Century: 31 plates drawn by Coypel originals from the 18th century, and mostly engraved by Van Schley and B. Picart. Coypel's engravings even replaced Cervantes' words in the luxurious book of the Dutch publisher Pieter de Hondt, who cut part of the novel to accommodate the large plates. With this series of engravings, Coypel became the most influential illustrator of Cervantes' novel in the 18th century.