The Fan - Octave Uzanne (1884) - History of Hand Fans - Fashion

Description: The Fan by Octave Uzanne Published by J. C. Nimmo and Bain, London 1884. First English Edition. 4to. Biscuit-grey cloth with decorative upper board. [6]+143. Illustrated by Paul Avril, with head-pieces, compartments, vignettes, etc. on every page, in colour and black and white. CONDITION: A good clean copy but with what looks to be a printing error on the title page as the publisher is missing from the foot of the page whereas other copies I have handled in the past have the publisher printed in red. Also on the title page the letters 'T' and 'F' are missing from the the title 'The Fan' - these are meant to be decorative capitals printed in red but missing on this copy. Also other firsts have a 15-page catalogue at the rear whereas this copy doesn't. It is possible this was a proof copy or a trial printing. Everything else is fine throughout the book with no other printing errors. Text complete and all illustrations present. Boards and spine good, gilt title on spine dulled. Hinges secure with no cracking. Pages in lovely clean condition throughout. No writing or names. Overall a lovely first edition with the mentioned printing errors to the title page. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Octave Uzanne (14 September 1851 - 31 October 1931) was a 19th-century French bibliophile, writer, publisher, and journalist. He is noted for his literary research on the authors of the 18th century. He published many previously unpublished works by authors including Paradis Moncrif, Benserade, Caylus, Besenval, the Marquis de Sade and Baudelaire.[1] He founded the Société des Bibliophiles Contemporaines, of which he was president. His research produced a considerable literary output and frequent publications in newspapers such as L'Echo, Le Plume, Dépêche de Toulouse, Le Mercure de France, Le Gaulois and Le Figaro of Paris. His first and perhaps most famous book on fashion was L'Éventail (1882, translated as The Fan in 1884), a delightful illustrated story about hand fans. He admitted that his book "in no way a work of powerful wisdom and erudition", but simply the first in a projected series of "little books for the boudoir". "Among the jewels of female ornamentation, the fan is the priority because, in the land of grace and spirit, still shines in the front row." (loc: Shop; Desk Top shelf ; Righthand side )

Price: 80 GBP

Location: Edinburgh

End Time: 2025-01-06T16:41:08.000Z

Shipping Cost: 42.95 GBP