French title-page: PIERRE LOUYS | 16 | LES CHANSONS DE BILITIS | TRADUITES DU FRANÇAIS PAR | J. SUDRABKALNS | ILLUSTRÉES PAR | S. VIDBERGS | ÉDITION ARS RIGA ||
Latvian title-page: PJĒRS LUISS | 16 | BILITIS DZIESMAS | NO FRANČU VALODAS TULKOJIS | J. SUDRABKALNS | ILLUSTRĒJIS | S. VIDBERGS | IZDEVNIECĪBA ARS RĪGĀ ||
Author: Pierre Louÿs (French, 1870–1925)
Illustrator: Sigismunds Vidbergs (Latvian, 1890–1970)
Translator: Jānis Sudrabkalns (Latvian, 1894–1975)
Publisher: Izdevniecība ARS, Riga, 1928
Language: Bilingual (French and Latvian)
Medium: Wove paper; images reproduced from photomechanical process clichés (two inks: black and warm beige) after Vidbergs’s drawings
Edition: Original edition (not the 1990 facsimile).
Description: Softcover, 240 × 185 mm, publisher’s yapp wrappers printed in blue with goblet device and ruled frame, lettered in French; French and Latvian letterpress title-pages; illustrated French title-page, illustrated section-title pages, two-tone initials; plates and vignettes after Vidbergs’s drawings reproduced in two inks from photomechanical blocks—total 17 plates. p. 5 — dedication MANAI DZĪVES BIEDREI (“To my life companion”) — S. VIDBERGS.
Pagination: [1-12] 13-80; collated 8vo: [1]-58, total 40 leaves, wrappers excluded.
Limitation (p. 4): ŠĪ GRĀMATA IESPIESTA LATVJU KULTŪRAS | SPIESTUVĒ 1928. G. JANVĀRĪ 550 EKSEMPLĀROS, | KUŖI NUMURĒTI UN ATZĪMĒTI AR MĀKSLINIEKA | AUTOGRAFU. KLIŠEJAS IZGATAVOTAS VALSTS | PAPĪRU SPIESTUVĒ | IL A ÉTÉ TIRÉ DE CET OUVRAGE CINQ CENTS | EXEMPLAIRES NUMÉROTÉS | ....... | № .... | Autograph in ink: "S. Vidbergs" | TOUS DROITS DE REPRODUCTION DES ILLUSTRATIONS RÉSERVÉS ||
Note: Vidbergs’s illustrations are composed as Attic vases or their fragments. Versos of several plates carry the lines Rīgas pilsētas mākslas muzeja īpašums (Property of the Riga City Art Museum) and Latvijas Valsts mākslas muzeja īpašums (Property of the Latvian State Museum of Art), functioning as a mystification device that echoes the book’s pseudotranslation of antique verses. Copy number not filled in. This is an original 1928 edition with the artist’s autograph, not the 1990 facsimile (see LIB-3494.2025 for the facsimile edition).
Contents / pagination:
pp. 1/2 — blank.
pp. 3/4 — publisher’s device / limitation
pp. 5/6 — printed dedication / French title-page
pp. 7/8 — Latvian title-page / blank
pp. 9/10 — illustrated French title-page / museum citation verso
pp. 11/12 — section title-page / blank.
pp. 13–72 — text with illustrations and vignettes
pp. 73/74 — full-page plate / blank
pp. 75–80 — list of subscribers
Additional Information
| Collection | Erotica , Illustrated books , Library |
|---|---|
| Type / Purpose | Book |
| Period | 20 AD , Mid-20th Century |
| Country | Latvia |
| Language | French , Latvian |
| Media/Technique | Paper , Photomechanical , Wove paper |
| Genre | Erotica , Poetry |
| Subject | 20th century , Art Deco , Bilingual editions , Bucolic poetry , Erotic books , Erotica , French poetry , Greek vase painting , Homosexual , Illustrated books , Latvia , Lesbians , Literary forgeries and mystifications , Love , Pseudotranslation , Sappho , Sex , Sexual life , Sexuality , Translations from French , Translations into Latvian |
| Creation / Publishing year | 1928 |
| Edition | 1st edition |
| Binding | Original , Softcover , Wrappers |
| Signature | Autograph |
| Location | BOX 36. |
| Acquisition year | 2025 |
