Pierre Loti / Ernest de Crauzat, Piette Kermadec - Mon Frère Yves [(reliure avec étui signés Lehaye] - 1927

LOTI (Pierre) - CRAUZAT (Ernest de) - KERMADEC (Pierre) My Brother Yves. Illustrated with original woodcuts drawn and engraved by Renefer. [Followed by:] The real my Brother Yves (Pierre-Marie Le Cor) . [Follow-up by:] Pierre Loti at Mon Frère Yves. Paris, The Contemporary Book, 1927. 3 works in 1 volume in-4 (242 x 193 mm) , full midnight blue morocco (binding with slipcase signed Lehaye) , spine with four Jansenist raised bands, gilded author and title, figurative micro-mosaic in the center of the top cover, gilt dotted fillet on the corners, gilt streaks on the caps, blue morocco interior frame embellished with a scattering of gilt dots on cold grid, center of the counterplates and facing endpapers in duck blue moire, flying endpapers in iridescent blue wash , all gilt edges (on witnesses in the gutter and at the bottom) , covers and spine preserved, ex-libris label on top virgin endpaper, [8] -285-[1] ; 21-[3] ; 55-[1] pages (complete collection) . Tiny friction at the top of the lower hinge (0. 2 cm) , scattered foxing on the 1st book (pressed on pp. 17 to 33 as well as on pp. 64-65) . Good condition. Magnificent binding signed Henri Lehaye (1899-1966) . Art bookbinder, he makes his compositions in micro-mosaic and, bound for his finest achievements, the original watercolor which served as a model. The latter is present in the copy, accompanied by a dedication from the artist. Edition of 121 copies on Arches vellum, the latter named for "Madame Georges Cain", n°55 (similar edition for the 3 books) . Madame Georges Cain seems to be the wife of the painter, art historian and curator of the Carnavelet museum, Georges Cain. From her maiden name, Marie-Céline Ruffel (1859-1938) , she left many traces by preferring the name of "Madame Cain", in particular as the legatee of her husband's works, to several Parisian museums. First illustrated edition, adorned with 133 original woodcuts drawn and engraved by Raymond Fontanet dit, Renefer (1879-1957) . A plural artist (photographer, painter, engraver. . .) , his post-impressionist touch lends itself particularly well to translating skies and seas tormented by changes in light, color and shape. His art is thus magnified in the illustration of this novel between sea and land. Louis Marie Julien Viaud, known as Pierre Loti (1850-1923) was a French naval officer and writer who entered the Academy in 1891. He joined the navy out of admiration for his brother Gustave, a colonial navy doctor who disappeared while Pierre Loti was still very young. By writing this novel about the sea inspired by his family history, Pierre Loti goes, through words, in search of this lost brother whom he sets up as a guide through the character of Yves. The first edition appeared in 1883. From the library of Pierre Desmottes. Superb copy, in a magnificent finely worked binding.