• Description: one volume 28.5 x 23 cm in publisher’s French flapped wrappers, with lettering to front  “Pierre Louÿs”, in glassine dust jacket, in tan cardboard double slipcase 29.7 x 24 cm with ticket “Haeusgen | 8 München 90 | Reinekestrasse 36”; 13 gatherings in-4to (52 leaves), unbound, with 20 drypoint illustrations by Louis Berthomme Saint-André, 15 of them full-page plates, with tissue guards, printed on wove paper watermarked “Lana 15‡90”, unpaginated. Title-page (black and purple): PIERRE LOUŸS | POÉSIES | ÉROTIQUES | ILLUSTRÉES DE VINGT POINTES | SÈCHES PAR ARTISTE | INCONNU | AUX DÉPENS D’UN AMATEUR | CHIHUAHUA ~ MEXIQUE | L’AN I DE LA IVe RÉPUBLIQUE || Limitation (colophon): total print run of 350 copies on Lana paper, of which 20 copies marked A-T with an original drawing, etc. enriched; 30 copies numbered I-XXX, and 300 numbered 1-300. This is copy 295. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel (1920-1970) № 2231, p. 324; Nordmann-Christie’s (2): № 322, p. 157. Contributors: Pierre Louÿs (French, 1870 – 1925) – author. Louis Berthomme Saint-André (French, 1905 – 1977) – artist.
  • Description: Hardcover, 24.5 x 16.5 cm, collated 8vo, bound in quarter green marbled sheepskin over buckram boards, publisher’s wrappers preserved. Front wrapper and title-page (red and black): LIANE DELORYS | JOUJOU | OU | LES LIBERTINAGES DU TRAVESTI | Orné de 16 héliogravures | PARIS | AUX GALANTS PASSE-TEMPS | 79, Rue de Vaugirard, 79 || Collation: [1]8 (2 blanks, h.t./advert., t.p./limit., text), 2-178 on laid paper (total 136 leaves) plus 16 photomechanical b/w plates, incl. frontispiece on thick wove paper. Pagination: [1-9] 10-269 [3], total 272 pages, ils. Limitation: a print run of 2,050 copies on vergé antique Hollande reserved for subscribers, of which this is copy № 379. Contributors: Author: Liane Delorys – pen name; the real name is unknown; according to various sources other pseudonyms of this author are: Liane Lauré, Liane de Lorys, Liane de Lauris, Lucette de Chata, and G. Donville. The latter may be a real name, though there is no information even about the gender of this person. Publisher: Aux Galants Passe-temps, i.e. Jean Fort or Jean-Marie Fort (French, fl. c. 1907 – 1839), also published under the name of ‘Collection des Orties Blanches’, ‘Bon Vieux temps’, ‘Au Cabinet du Livre’. Artist: Chéri Hérouard (French, 1881 – 1961). Printer: Darantiere (Dijon), i.e. Maurice Darantiere (French, 1882 – 1962).
  • Hardcover volume, 17 x 11.3 cm, in-12, quarter orange cloth (percaline) over marbled boards, black morocco label with gilt lettering to spine, marbled endpapers, text printed on laid paper, five plates on India paper (papier Chine). Title-page: LE | LIBERTIN | DE QUALITÉ | OU | MA CONVERSION | PAR | M. D. R. C. D. M. F. | (LE COMTE DE MIRABEAU) | Edition revue sur celle originale de 1783 | {fleuron} | LONDRES | – | 1783-1866 || Pagination: [4] (h.t., t.p.), [1] 2-200; total 204 pages plus 5 engraved plates, incl. frontispiece; 2 blank leaves at the front and 2 at the back, laid paper, watermarked Canson & Montgolfier. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel I: A-653. Ref.: Illustrations were earlier published in Vie privée, libertine et scandaleuse de feu Honoré-Gabriel Riquetti Comte de Mirabeau, 1791, (see [LIB-2633.2021] Apollinaire, et al. L’Enfer de la Bibliothèque nationale, 1912 : № 795). M. D. R. C. D. M. F stands for Monsieur de Riqueti comte de Mirabeau Fis. Catalogue Poulet-Malassis & ses amis description: № 55. M. D. R. C. D. M. F. (le comte de Mirabeau). Le Libertin de qualité ou Ma conversion, édition revue sur celle de l’originale de 1783. Londres 1783-1866 [Christiaens, 1867]. In-12 de 2 .n.ch. et 200 pages, demi-percaline orange, pièce de titre, tête jaspée, tranches naturelles (reliure de l’époque). Illustré de 5 gravures originales, dont l’une en frontispice, qui reprennent celles de l’édition de Vie privée libertine et scandaleuse de feu Honoré-Gabriel-Riqueti, ci-devant comte de Mirabeau [...] de 1791. Contributors: Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti de Mirabeau (French, 1749 – 1791) – author. Alexis Christiaens (Belgian, d. 1880) – publisher.
  • A set of two volumes, one with the text (1) and another with the plates (2), cased in a red ‘romantic’ fitting box of red morocco, lavishly tooled in gilt, c. 1840, more recently adapted to house two books of different size. Vol.1: Hardcover volume, 22.4 x 14 cm, 8vo, bound in half black polished calf (late 19th century) over marbled boards, spine and corners gilt-tooled, raised bands, gilt lozenges in compartments, gilt-lettered red morocco label; marbled endpapers; Francis M. G. Mauleverer armorial bookplate (motto “Deus Providebit”) to front pastedown. Printed on laid paper, Collation: 1 blank, engraved frontis., engraved t.p., A-Cc8 Dd2, 1 blank; pagination:[1] 2-420. Vol. 2: Hardcover volume, 21 x 14 cm, bound in green straight-grain morocco (early 19th century), boards with a roll-tooled palmette border, spine decorated in gilt, blue moiré endpapers, yellow feps, additional blank leaves: 2 in the front and 4 in the back, unpaginated; engraved frontis. and t.p. as in vol. 2, plus 35 plates now attributed to Delcroche printed on India paper, pasted on thicker leaves and bound in numerical order, but pl. 34 after pl. 35; As per Christie’s “The prints, sometimes attributed to de Hooghe, are actually by Delcroche, who illustrated a number of classics in the 1770s and 1780s, including Fanny Hill. AE and ABPC record only three copies of this edition at auction, including the Nordmann and Hayoit copies. Apollinaire Enfer, 277; Dutel A-15; Eros invaincu 16; Foxon Libertine Literature, NY: 1965, p.38; Gay-Lemonnyer I, 10; Pia Enfer, 346.” Contributors: Delcroche (Dutch, 17th century), “artiste hollandaise”, nothing else is known. Dutel and Nordmann attribute the plates to Romeyn de Hooghe (Dutch, 1645 – 1708). Nicolas Chorier (French, 1612 –  1692) – author. Francis M. G. Mauleverer (British, 1918 – 1962) – provenance. Seller’s description: 2 vols in 8vo (215x125 and 204x117 mm), a complete but composite set, the text volume in late 19th c. half black morocco, with corners, gilt spine tooled in gold, the plate volume in a nice early 19th-century green morocco binding, the spine gilt-tooled in compartments, the sides with a roll-tooled palmette border, pale blue moiré style endpapers (hinges repaired). Text vol.: engraved frontispiece, engr. title, pp. 420. Plates vol. comprising: the engraved title, frontispiece, and 35 engraved plates, probably by Delcroche. Both volumes cased in a ‘romantic’ fitting box binding, c. 1840, more recently adapted.
  • Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 265 x 378 mm; black ink stamp “5051 1” to reverse. Top left: "ARMÉE FRANCAISE. ARTILLERIE"; right: (gothic font) "Französische Armee  Artillerie" — "№ 107". Below left: "Fabrique d’Images de Fr. Wentzel à Wissembeurg. Bas-Rhin." — "Déposé" —, centre: "Bilderfabrit von Fr. Wentzel in Weissenburg", right: "Fr. Wentzel, Éditeur, rue St. Jacques, 65, Paris". Bottom: "Trompette | Trompeter" — "Capitaine | Gauptmann" — "Porte-Étendard | Fahnenträger" — "Artilleur | Artillerist" — "Cantinière | Marketenderin". Jean Frédéric Wentzel (French, 1807 – 1869) – publisher/printer.
  • Pliny's Historia Naturalis. Engraved Title: C. PLINIUS S. Vande Menfchen, Beeften, Vogelen en Viffchen. [Pliny the Elder. Of Men, Beasts, Birds, and Fish]. Title: C. PLINII | SECUNDI | Des wijd-vermaerden Na- | tuur-kondigers vijf boecken handelende van de nature. | Handelende van de Nature | I. Vande Manfchen. | II. Vande viervoetige en kruypende Dieren. | III. Vande Vogelen. | IV. Vande kleyne Beeftjes of Ongedierten. | V. Vande Viffchen, Oefters, Kreeften, &c. | Hier zijn by ghevoeght / de Schriften | van verscheyden andere oude autheuren / de | natuer der dieren aengaende; | En nu in defen leften Druck wel het vierde part | vermeerdert , uyt verscheyden nieuwe Schrijvers | en eyghen ondervindinge : en met veel | kopere Plaeten verciert. {Device} | t' AMSTELREDAM , | By Iooft Hartgers, Boeck-verkooper op den Dam | bezijden het Stadthuys, 1650. Pagination: [1, 2] - engraved t.p. / blank, [3, 4] - text t.p. / Aen den nauw-keuringem Lefer..., 5-802, 52 engraved plates; colophon on p. 802 bottom: "Gedruckt by Chiftoffel Cunradus, ..." Collation: A-Z1-12, Aa-Kk1-12 Size: 12mo, 14 x 9 cm Binding: Vellum The first Dutch version, consisting of extracts from books 7-11 from Pliny's "Natural History" was published in Arnheim by Jans Janzen in quarto in 1610. Our copy is one of the Amsterdam editions and the only one in duodecimo. According to WorldCat, there is not a single copy of this edition in the US libraries. Printed by Christoffel Cunradus ( Freiberg , c. 1615 - Amsterdam , 1684) for publisher Joost Hartgers (Dutch, fl. 1650). See Gudger, E. W. "Pliny's Historia Naturalis. The Most Popular Natural History Ever Published." Isis 6, no. 3 (1924): 269-81. Accessed September 23, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/224311.
  • Title: NOUVELLE | LISTE | DES JOLIES FEMMES | DE PARIS ; | LEURS NOMS ET LEUR DEMEURE. | PRIX TROIS FRANCS. | Se trouve A Paris , au Palais des plaisirs. | — | An 1808. || Pagination : [1-6] 7-70 [2 blank] Collation : 9vo, [A]9 B-D9. Binding: Original blue wrappers, 15 x 9 cm. Ref: OCLC finds only one copy, at the British Library. The BnF has a work of the same title, with the same pagination, dated 1803. The stated publisher seems to be fictitious. Quaritch description: 12mo, pp. 70; a little dusty, a few spots and marks; a very good uncut copy in original blue/grey wrappers; somewhat worn and stained. Very rare guide to Parisian prostitutes providing an extraordinary snapshot of the state of prostitution in the city during the First French Empire. The anonymous compiler begins with a brief history of prostitution in the capital, and its regulation, under Charlemagne and Louis VIII, describes a brothel established by Joanna I of Naples at Avignon and discusses Pierre-Jean Grosley’s estimate of the number of prostitutes in London. He then provides his liste, divided into categories including ‘houses of the first order’, ‘bawdy houses’, ‘actresses’, ‘washerwomen’, and ‘procuresses’, giving the name of each prostitute, an indication of their age, and their physical attributes, character, and particular talents. Rosanne, for example, chez Madame l’Évêque at the Palais du Tribunat, offers ‘unspeakably voluptuous pleasures to the nether regions’; Honorine prefers women; Scholastique likes wine with her lovemaking; Nanette has a penchant for soldiers; Genevieve favours the priapic; Dorsay enjoys S&M, and Madame Laperriere promises rejuvenation to the elderly. One Ducroisy is poetically described as possessing ‘a tuft as black as a crow above two alabaster columns’, while Félicité has skin ‘soft and white, sprinkled with golden freckles, like gold in Maraschino liqueur’. The author hopes that his listed will bring business to the ladies and pleasure to their clients, beseeching both to look after their health so that his guide might ‘serve Love, not Asclepius’.
  • Title: LES | CURIOSITÉS DE PARIS | PAR | CH. VIRMAITRE | PRÉFACE DE M. XAVIER EYMA | PARIS | P. LEBIGRE-DUQUESNE, LIBRAIRE-ÉDITEUR | 16, RUE HAUTEFEUILLE, 16 | 1868 || Collation: 18mo, π6; 1-1918. Pagination: [2] – pictorial title by A. Gill, engr. Marchandeau / blank, [2] – t.p. / blank, [2] dedication to Émile de Girardin / blank, [vii] viii-xii – préface; [1] 2-360, bfl. Note: pp. 223/224 and XIX chapter’s f.t. unpaginated and loose, but collation is not interrupted. Other chapters f.t. paginated. Binding: hardcover, quarter brown buckram over marbled boards, flat spine, gilt fillets, gilt lettering over the black label. Contributors: Charles Virmaître (1835 – 1903) – text. Xavier Eyma (1816 – 1876) – text / preface. André Gill (French, 1840 – 1885) – artist / pictorial title. Marchandeau (French, fl. c. 1867) – engraver / pictorial title.
  • Title: Antoinette Faÿ-Hallé • Christine Lahaussois | Le grand livre de la | faïence française | Office du livre || Dedication (to imprint): A Jeanne Giacomotti (author of French Faience, Oldbourne Press, London, 1963) Pagination: [1-6] 7-242 [2], 300 illustrations, incl. 150 in colour. Binding: 29 x 25.5 cm, grey paper, blind-stamped to front cover, white lettering to spine, pictorial dust jacket. Contributors: Antoinette Faÿ- Hallé (French, 20th century) – Chargée du Musée national de céramique de Sèvres Christine Lahaussois (French, 20th century) – Chargée de conservation, Musée national de céramique, Sèvres  
  • Binding: Grey double-slipcase 34 x 16.5 cm, pictorial folder, French flapped pictorial wrappers, both folder and wrapper with green ms lettering and vignette in sanguine, green ms lettering to spine. Collation: folio in-4to, two leaves in wrappers at the front and back, π8, 104 [11]2, total 50 leaves, incl. plates. Pagination: [4], [2] h.t. / limitation, [2] blank, [1-3] blank, [4-6] frontis., t.p., blank. 7-86 [2] [4] colophon, 100 pages total. Title-page (sanguine and black): COMPLEXES | 40 | DESSINS DE | Vertès | PREFACE DE | PIERRE MAC ORLAN | ANDRÉ SAURET | ÉDITIONS DU LIVRE ★ MONTE-CARLO || Illustrations: One on the front covers, one on the back one headpiece vignette, 37 plates, incl. frontispiece in colour and three on a double-page (full leaf), and one original pencil drawing. Limitation: 890 copies of which 40 (№ 1-40) signed by the artist and contain one original drawing; this copy is № 27. Edition: published by André Sauret, lithographs after Vertès drawings by Georges Duval, printed by Fernand Mourlot; text printed at “La Ruche” under the direction of A. and P. Jarach. Print run completed on November 9, 1948. Contributors: Pierre Mac-Orlan (French, 1882 – 1970) – author. Marcel Vertès [Marcell Vértes] (Jewish-Hungarian-French, 1895 – 1961) – artist. André Sauret (Monaco, fl. 1952 – 1976) – publisher. Other names: Marcel Vertès, Marcel Vertes, Marcell Vértes
  • Description: Original tan French flapped wrappers with black lettering to front, 22.7 x 14.5 cm, unbound, printed in b/w on thick wove unmarked paper with no plate mark (lithography?), collated in-4to, 1-94 102, total 38 leaves (2 leaves under front wrapper, 1 blank/limit., 1 h.t./blank, 1 t.p./blank, 31 leaves of illustrations printed on one side, 1 last blank, 1 under back wrapper); in a green marbled cardboard folder with lettered paper label to spine. Limitation: Edition limited to 200 copies on vélin de Rives, copies №№ 1-30 enriched with one original drawing, another 15 copies marked H. C. and numbered I-XV. This copy lacks the number, marked (handwritten) d’artiste A. C. (or H. C.) Catalogue raisonné: Dutel (1920-1970) № 2512, p. 388. Contributor: André Collot (French, 1897 – 1976) – artist.
  • Description: Hardcover small 4to, 20.3 x 15.8 cm, contemporary binding, quarter carrot morocco with raised bands over marbled boards, marbled endpapers, original wrappers preserved, gilt lettering to spine. Content: Scapin Maquereau, drame en un acte par M. Albert Glatigny; La grisette et l’étudiant, pièce en un acte par M. Henry Monnier; Le bout de l’an de la noce, parodie du bout de l’an de l’amour de M. Théodore Barrière par MM. Lemercier de Neuville et J. du Boys; Un caprice par Lemercier de Neuville; Les jeux de l’amour et du bazar, comédie de mœurs en un acte par Lemercier de Neuville. Title-page: LE THÉATRE ÉROTIQUE | DE LA RUE DE LA SANTE | {vignette} | PARIS | — | 1932 || Collation: 3 blanks, original front wrapper with black lettering «LE THÉATRE ÉROTIQUE | DE LA RUE DE LA SANTE», [1]4 (2 blanks, frontis., h.t. / limitation), [2]4 (t.p., f.t.p., 2 leaves of text), 3-184 (incl. 2 blanks), original back wrapper, original spine, 3 blanks; 5 full-page illustrations within collation, 3 original watercolours extraneous to collation bound in between 11 and 12 blank leaves. Pagination: [4] [1-8] 9-135 [136] [4], ils. Limitation: 20 copies on Japon and 250 copies on Vélin, this is copy № 201. Edition: 1st edition thus, illustrated with 20 coloured photogravures, 5 of them full-page after Feodor Rojankovsky [Rojan], enriched with 3 full-page original watercolours by him. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel (1920-1970): 2498, p. 385; Nordmann/Christie’s (2) 515, p. 251 Contributors: Feodor Rojankovsky [Rojan, Фёдор Степанович Рожанковский] (Russian-American, 1891 – 1970) – artist. Joseph Albert Alexandre Glatigny (French, 1839 – 1873) – author. Henry-Bonaventure Monnier (French, 1799 – 1877) – author. Théodore Barrière (French, 1823 – 1877) – author. Louis Lemercier de Neuville [La Haudussière, Louis Lemercier] (French, 1830 – 1918) – author. Jean Charles Duboys [Du Boys] (French, 1836 – 1873) – author. Original watercolours:
  • Description: Hardcover, 19.3 x 15 cm, printed on thick wove paper watermarked “J. PERRIGOT MBM ARCHES (France)”, bound by Thomas Boichot (signed 'BOICHOT' on front pastedown) in silver buckram with a white floral diaper, original front wrapper preserved, top margin gilt; engraved bookplate of Roger Peyrefitte by Pierre-Yves Trémois, 1972, to front pastedown lettered “SEX | LIBRIS | ROGER | PEYREFITTE | {vignette} | Trémois | 72”; bookplate of J.-P. Dutel to binder’s flyleaf. Description by the seller: Plein papier à la Bradel, tête dorée, non rogné, premier plat de couverture conservé. (Boichot). Édition originale publiée en 1927 par René Bonnel ornée dans le titre d’une vignette gravée par Foujita. Tirage : 5 ex. sur Japon ancien. 100 ex. sur vélin d’Arches. EXEMPLAIRE UNIQUE. UN DES 100 SUR VÉLIN D’ARCHES (N°97), ENRICHI DE 8 AQUARELLES LIBRES. Provenance: Roger Peyrefitte (Ex-libris érotique gravé par Trémois). Collation: Pink front wrapper, lettered in frame “P. L. |—| PYBRAC |—| 1927”, 2 blank leaves, [1] h.t., [1] t.p. in red and black with engraved vignette by Foujita, [2] (Sur la chemise…), [2] f.t. / blank,  [5] 6-98 [2 colophon/blank], 2 blank leaves, total 52 leaves plus four blanks and a wrapper. Title-page (red and black): PIERRE LOUŸS | PYBRAC | POESIES | {vignette} | CYTHÈRE | AU COQ HARDI || Edition: Limited edition of 105 copies of which this is copy № 97 on Arches paper, enhanced with eight in-text colour drawings by an anonymous artist (unique copy). Another unique copy of the same edition illustrated by an anonymous artist in this collection LIB-3130.2023. Contributors: Pierre Louÿs (French, 1870 – 1925) – author. Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita (Japanese-French, 1886 – 1968) – artist (t.p. vignette). Roger Peyrefitte (French, 1907 – 2000) – provenance. Pierre-Yves Trémois (French, 1921 – 2020) – artist (bookplate) René Bonnel (French, 1884 – 1975) – publisher. Thomas Boichot – bookbinder.
  • Description: Two volumes 23.1 x 14.9 cm each, collated in 4to, uniformly bound in French flapped wrappers with the title and an engraved vignette, coloured; wrapped in glassine; cased in a cardboard chemise (23.1 x 15 cm) with a diaper of two hearts pierced by an arrow, in pink; and both volumes cased in a slipcase (23.8 x 15.2 cm) with the same diaper. Printed on unpaginated dense wove paper watermarked ‘Arches’, engravings with clear plate marks. Illustrations are by Jean Dulac. Title-page (double-fillet frame, black and red in manuscript) Nelly et Jean | – | nous deux | simples | papiers | du|  tiroir secret | {vignette} | Première partie (Deuxième partie) | – | Gravé | et imprimé | pour les auteurs | et leurs amis || Vol. 1: 1 blank, π4 (blank, h.t., frontis., engr. t.p.), 1-84, [2 blanks]; total 39 leaves with 19 hand-coloured burin engravings, incl. wrapper, frontis., and t.p. Unpag. Vol. 2: 1 blank, π4 (blank, h.t., frontis., engr. t.p.), 1-114, [1 colophon] [2 blanks], total 52 leaves with 27 hand-coloured burin engravings, incl. wrapper, frontis., and t.p. Unpag. Limitation: total print run of 295 copies of which 12 (№№ 1-12) on Japon Impérial, 13 on Vélin d’Arches (№№ 13-25), 30 on Japon Impérial (№№ 26-55) and 240 on Vélin d’Arches (№№ 56-295); this is copy № 97 on Vélin d’Arches. Contributors: Marcel Valotaire (French, 1889 – 1979) – author. Jean Dulac (French, 1902 – 1968) – artist. Printed by Coulouma (Argenteuil) and Vernant (Paris). The same title with illustrations by Gaston de Sainte-Croix was published in 1956:  LIB-2880.2021.
  • Softcover, french flapped wrappers, 29 x 19 cm, in glassine dustjacket, text printed on laid paper, pp.: [1-10] 11-256 [8], total 264 pages plus 11 plates out of 12, hand-coloured etchings on wove paper laid in, extraneous to collation. Wrappers detached from the block. Some pages uncut. Below is the missing plate, according to honesterotica.com: Title-page: LES FILLES | DE LOTH | • | et autres poèmes | érotiques | recueillis par le | Vidame de Bozegy | • | A SODOME | — Imprimerie de la Genèse — | 1933 || Edition limited to 500 copies, this is copy № 54. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 1575. Edmond Dardenne Bernard [Vidame de Bozegy] (French, 20th c.) – author. André Collot (French, 1897 – 1976) – artist.
  • Hand-coloured woodcut poster on wove paper, 622 x 417 mm; black ink stamp “4859” to reverse, horizontal centrefold. In a double frame, top: LOUIS-NAPOLÉON BONAPARTE, | REPRÉSENTANT DU PEUPLE, | Président de la République française. Text under the image ; bottom left: (Déposé.— Propriété de l’Éditeur.); right: Fabrique de PELLERIN, Imprimeur-Libraire, à ÉPINAL. Jean Charles Pellerin (French, 1756 – 1836) – printer/publisher.  
  • La Préfecture de Police, par un vieux petit employé - Procès de La Lanterne avec tous ses incidents. Administration du journal La Lanterne, Paris, 1879.

    Quatrième édition.

    Anonymous publication. Authorship attributed to: Yves Guyot, Francisque Sarcey. Source: Harvard College Library, Soc. 3375.6, 14-OCT-1914, Wolcott Fund.

  • L'Éclipse : journal hebdomadaire, №94, 07-11-1869. La Bataille de Louqsor, par Job. [The Battle of Louqsor, by Job]. Le père Gagne, monté sur l'Obélisque, s'écrie: — Citoyens, du bas de ce monument, quatre-vingt mille…..parapluies me contemplent. [The father Gagne mounted on the Obelisk, cries out: — Citizens, from the bottom of the monument, eighty thousand….umberellas contemplate me]. Étienne-Paulin Gagne, known as Paulin Gagne (French, 1808 – 1876), holding a hat with a tricolour cockade and umbrella with the head of a devil on its grip straddles the obelisk of Luxor at the centre of the Place de la Concorde with marching scarabs on it. A spider dangles from his heel. In the background is The Palais Bourbon, a meeting place of the French National Assembly. The ground is made out of open umbrellas. Paulin Gagne was a graphomaniac poet, essayist, lawyer, politician, inventor, and eccentric, and a perpetual candidate for the Assembly. Ref.: Gallica; Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Philosophie, histoire, sciences de l'homme, FOL-LC13-114