Baudelaire, Charles; Rothchild, Judith (Artist)

Epigraphe pour un Livre Condamne [Epigraph for a Condemned Book]

[Octon, France]: Verdigris, 2007. Rothchild, Judith. Limited Edition. Accordion. Number 2 of 33 copies, forty-eightmo size, [9] pp., signed by printer Mark Lintott and Judith Rothchild, text in French. Fine. Item #CNJL474

This poem by Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) was intended as an epigraph for the second edition of "Le Fleurs du mal" [The Flowers of Evil], first published in 1857 and a major work of both the symbolism and modernist movements. Upon its publication, Baudelaire was prosecuted by the Second Regime in France and fined 300 francs, and six poems were suppressed for their erotic content (the ban on these poems was not lifted in France until nearly one hundred years later, in 1949) (n. b., info from Wikipedia). "Epigraphe" was never used in the second edition, but was inserted into the third edition of "Le Fleurs du mal", and the poem is printed here as an accordion book inside a case.

This edition is heightened by rich prints by Judith Rothchild (b. 1950), with heavy drypoint marks surrounding the text of the poem and mezzotints at the beginning and end of the accordion. The darkly haloed eyes on either end of the poem evoke the challenge presented by Baudelaire: "Ton oeil sait plonger dans les gouffres. . .[Your eye knows how to dive into the chasms. . .]".

___DESCRIPTION: Accordion book in a case with quarter grey cloth with marbled paper covered boards, title in black on the front board, grey paper spine lable with black lettering, green paste-down endpapers, accordion with green paper front board with title in black, attached to the back board of the case by the last page, title page with black-and-white mezzotint of a closed eye by Judith Rothchild, black-and-white prints by Rothchild throughout; Vendome Romain type, Hahnemuhle paper, forty-eightmo size (3.75" by 3.5"), 9 unnumbered pages, one of 33 copies, this number 2, signed by Mark Lintott and Judith Rothchild on the colophon. Please note that the text is in French. In a slipcase covered in grey paper with a dark blue abstract pattern.

___CONDITION: A fine copy; the covers clean, the corners straight and unrubbed, the binding tight with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and free of prior owner markings; clean, crisp, as new. The slipcase is fine also, strong and sturdy, clean, without wear.

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Price: $400.00