[1st ed] Alphonse Mucha's Documents Decoratifs (complete in four portfolios)
Suite of 72 lithographic plates on wove paper, many in color, plus expository pages (title page, half-title page, preface) and four covers. Published in Paris in 1902 by Librairie Centrale des Beaux Arts. Edited by Emile Levy and with a preface by Gabriel Mourey. Folio (18” x 13”). Alphonse Mucha’s commercial art Magnum Opus, conceived as a sample book for craftsmen and manufacturers, presenting the full range of Mucha’s decorative work: posters, decorative panels, wallpapers, friezes, stained glass, furniture, cutlery, tableware, jewelry, light fittings, typography, etc. Documents Décoratifs was distributed in two formats: all 72 loose plates and ancillary material in one volume with pictorial boards; or in a series of four volumes each comprising 18 loose plates, in wove paper pictorial wrappers. The present set has the four pictorial paper covers, numbered I to llll. In remarkable overall condition considering the age and the inherent fragility of the paper. All four covers are split from the rear wrappers, with moderate edge-chipping and rubbing. Two of the covers (I and ll) have old tape repairs to tears on the verso. Minor bumping and a few chips to the extremities of some plates; plates clean and bright. Additional images upon request. Please make arrangements in advance to view in person. Scarce in this format, with the three extra cover lithographs.
Suite of 72 lithographic plates on wove paper, many in color, plus expository pages (title page, half-title page, preface) and four covers. Published in Paris in 1902 by Librairie Centrale des Beaux Arts. Edited by Emile Levy and with a preface by Gabriel Mourey. Folio (18” x 13”). Alphonse Mucha’s commercial art Magnum Opus, conceived as a sample book for craftsmen and manufacturers, presenting the full range of Mucha’s decorative work: posters, decorative panels, wallpapers, friezes, stained glass, furniture, cutlery, tableware, jewelry, light fittings, typography, etc. Documents Décoratifs was distributed in two formats: all 72 loose plates and ancillary material in one volume with pictorial boards; or in a series of four volumes each comprising 18 loose plates, in wove paper pictorial wrappers. The present set has the four pictorial paper covers, numbered I to llll. In remarkable overall condition considering the age and the inherent fragility of the paper. All four covers are split from the rear wrappers, with moderate edge-chipping and rubbing. Two of the covers (I and ll) have old tape repairs to tears on the verso. Minor bumping and a few chips to the extremities of some plates; plates clean and bright. Additional images upon request. Please make arrangements in advance to view in person. Scarce in this format, with the three extra cover lithographs.
Suite of 72 lithographic plates on wove paper, many in color, plus expository pages (title page, half-title page, preface) and four covers. Published in Paris in 1902 by Librairie Centrale des Beaux Arts. Edited by Emile Levy and with a preface by Gabriel Mourey. Folio (18” x 13”). Alphonse Mucha’s commercial art Magnum Opus, conceived as a sample book for craftsmen and manufacturers, presenting the full range of Mucha’s decorative work: posters, decorative panels, wallpapers, friezes, stained glass, furniture, cutlery, tableware, jewelry, light fittings, typography, etc. Documents Décoratifs was distributed in two formats: all 72 loose plates and ancillary material in one volume with pictorial boards; or in a series of four volumes each comprising 18 loose plates, in wove paper pictorial wrappers. The present set has the four pictorial paper covers, numbered I to llll. In remarkable overall condition considering the age and the inherent fragility of the paper. All four covers are split from the rear wrappers, with moderate edge-chipping and rubbing. Two of the covers (I and ll) have old tape repairs to tears on the verso. Minor bumping and a few chips to the extremities of some plates; plates clean and bright. Additional images upon request. Please make arrangements in advance to view in person. Scarce in this format, with the three extra cover lithographs.
