Spaddy [i.e. Johannès Gros]. Colette, ou les amusements de bon ton: Roman. — St. Cloud: Temple de Cythère [Maurice Duflou, c. 1939].

Softcover, 228 x 155 mm, embossed geometrical diaper pink French flapped wrappers with black and orange lettering to front; collated 8vo: 1-10⁸, i.e. 80 leaves, pp.: [4] [1-4] 5-152 [4], plus 12 colour plates; woodcut t.p. vignette, head- and tailpieces in sanguine.

Text printed on wove paper watermarked Marais, untrimmed, some leaves uncut; colour illustrations produced by half-tone relief photo reproduction technique and printed on thinner paper without a watermark. Colouring is most probably made by hand.

Besides the presence of the platemarks, micro-photo reveals clear signs of the half-tone relief photomechanical reproduction method:

Title-page (red and black): SPADDY | COLETTE | OU | LES AMUSEMENTS DE BON TON | ROMAN | {vignette} | A SAINT – CLOUD | AU TEMPLE DE CYTHÈRE ||

Limitation: CE ROMAN, EDITÉ POUR DES AMATEURS ET | NON MIS DANS LE COMMERCE, A ETÉ TIRÉ | A 250 EXEMPLAIRES, SUR VELIN PUR FIL | DU MARAIS, NUMÉROTÉS A LA PRESSE. | Cet exemplaire porte le No 49

Catalogue Raisonné: Dutel III № 1254: second edition with reproduction plates, published in 1939. The 1^st edition with the original plates after Bécat was published in c. 1938.

Honesterotica.com:

Colette, ou les amusements de bon ton (Colette, Good Time Amusements) was an important early commission from Bécat by the master clandestine publisher Maurice Duflou, to complement a text bordering on the outrageous by Johannès Gros…

Contributors:

Spaddy [Johannès Gros] (French, 18.. – 1937) – author

Maurice Duflou (French, 1885 – 1947) – publisher

Paul-Émile Bécat (French, 1885 – 1960) – artist