TAL COAT (Pierre). Intaglio engravings for "Bestiaire" by Pi - Lot 283

TAL COAT (Pierre). Intaglio engravings for "Bestiaire" by Pierre Lecuire. Scratched proofs. Extremely rare suite of original etchings by Pierre Tal Coat (1905-1985), who died during the production of Pierre Lecuire's Bestiaire. . [Paris, Éditions des livres de Pierre Lecuire, 1985], vol. in-8 (252 × 165 mm), leaves, unbound. Excellent vellum prints of the 35 etchings and drypoint engravings, plus 15 additional plates. All plates are discreetly marked with two small lines in a corner. The edition of the book itself was limited to 72 copies, including 15 with the suite of 15 plates. It seems that there may have been a few additional editions, probably made for friends, institutions or other recipients. Indeed, the plates of the suite for sale seem never to have accompanied any of the 72 copies, as they are in octavo format on Rives wove paper, whereas the edition of the book is in folio format, 33 cm, on Moulin de Pombié paper and on Chine for the suite. Pierre Tal Coat had been engraving birds and animals since 1970, using scrap copper found in the studio and treating it as a sketchbook during the waiting times for the aquatints to be etched or the lithographic stones to be prepared. Pierre Lecuire, visiting Tal Coat in Switzerland in 1979, selected 50 of the hundreds of copper plates he had been presented with for a Bestiaire project. These are the plates featured in this book, engraved "between 1979 and 1984" according to the colophon.