Paris, A. Guérinet, 1900. Folio (40.1 x 29.5 cm). Full-colour illustrated heliotype title page; 24 numbered, full-colour heliotype plates (on 23 sheets). In original portfolio; quarter cloth over paper boards, with printed title. Three cloth straps. Rectangular strip with printed bookseller's name and address mounted in the lower margin of the front board.

A very rare work - we found only one auction record after 1970 - illustrated by the French designer and illustrator Émile Belet (1840-1904). He was - as stated on the title page - a Peintre à la Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres (world famous for its porcelain), and is renowned both for his illustrated books and for his original art, in particular vases. The plates depict submarine sea life, in particular algae (seaweeds), shells, fish and crustaceans. In this work he set out to show the different possibilities of using these very decorative and wonderful forms in jewellery, glass, ceramics and bookbinding. A wonderful example of Jugendstil or Art Nouveau. The heliotype printer was E. le Deley from Paris. Heliotype is a photomechanically produced type of plate made by exposing a gelatine film under a negative, hardening it with chrome alum, and printing directly from it. Label on front board " Librairie spéciale d'architecture E. Thézard Fils, éditeur a Dourdan, S-&-O.". Boards a bit toned and some wear and toning to a few edges; otherwise, a very good and clean copy. Schneider-Henn, Ornament und Dekoration, 231.