VILLIERS DE L'ISLE-ADAM, Auguste de, and AVATI, Mario. *Cont - Lot 302

VILLIERS DE L'ISLE-ADAM, Auguste de, and AVATI, Mario. *Contes Cruels*. A rare copy of this modern illustrated edition, featuring 25 original etchings by Mario Avati, further enriched by five preparatory pastels signed by the artist, two copperplate prints, and a set of all the compositions on pearlescent Japanese paper. Paris, Cercle Grolier, 1956. Quarto, loose-leaf, in a cardboard folder and a gray and black slipcase. 117 pp., 25 etchings, including 10 full-page ones. Some slight scuffing on the cardboard cover, a small coffee stain at the bottom of the table of contents, and slight yellowing of the paper in one of the pastels. A beautiful edition offering an offbeat artistic interpretation of Villiers de L'Isle-Adam’s *Contes Cruels*, illustrated with 25 original etchings by Mario Avati (1921–2009), including ten full-page etchings. A unique edition of 220 numbered copies printed on large Rives vellum (No. 54). Our copy is enhanced with: - 5 preparatory pastel drawings for the illustrations, some of which have been corrected in pencil, all hand-signed by Mario Avatiu (mounted on mat boards with captions in graphite on the reverse). - 2 copperplate prints of the illustrations on pp. 63 (108 x 138 mm) and 97 (170 x 140 cm), the latter being a full-page print. - a set of all the engravings printed on pearlescent Japanese paper, housed in a printed sleeve bearing the artist’s signature in graphite. - The menu on Rives paper published for a dinner hosted by the Grolier bibliophile society on December 15, 1956, decorated with an original etching and featuring an autograph dedication signed in graphite (included: a wine label and the menu card from the same dinner in in-8 format) This collection is unique not only because of the very nature of the illustrations—executed in the “manière noire” style—whose mystery and fantastical quality are reminiscent of the cinematic imagination of Tim Burton or Henry Selick across the Atlantic. The exceptional combination of different media (separate prints, plates, and pastels), particularly on pages 63 and 97, enhances the opportunities for comparison and the artistic appeal of this publication. A very fine, richly illustrated copy—particularly desirable!