Maupassant’s A la feuille de rose
Oct 5th, 2012 by houghtonmodern
This post is part of an ongoing series featuring items from the newly-acquired Santo Domingo collection.
We have another item from Gérard Nordmann’s collection this week. Guy de Maupassant’s 1875 quasi-pornographic drama A la feuille de rose, maison turque was published in this edition of 225 copies in 1945; Nordmann’s copy was subsequently bound in this arresting magenta leather inset with panels of pink and rose snakeskin. The custom binding retains the book’s original paper wrappers.
Likely the most interesting feature of this volume, however, is its frontispiece: one leaf features an erotic illustration, while a second is decorated with stage doors and cut to allow the reader to open them onto the scene.
A la feuille de rose, maison turque: comédie de moeurs (mauvaises) en un acte en prose représentée pour la première fois à Paris en 1875. Paris: : [s.n.], 1945. FC8.M4452.945a (B).
Thanks to rare book cataloger Ryan Wheeler for contributing this post.