Julien Sermet (born 1855), Les courtes joies: poésies (Brief Pleasures: poems); préface de Gustave Geffroy [Cover illustrations by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec] (Paris: Joubert, 1897). Graphic Arts Collection (GAX) 2015- in process
The Graphic Arts Collection recently acquired four small books with original lithographic paper wrappers designed by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901). All of them were included in the exhibition catalogue Toulouse-Lautrec Book Covers & Brochures published by the Department of Printing and Graphic Arts, Houghton Library in 1972 (Graphic Arts GA NC980.5.T68 H37).
On several of these volumes the design continues around and onto the back cover. On this book, the artist depicts a fishwife selling herring on the front, with the image of Don Quixote on the back.
Tristan Bernard (1866-1947), Les pieds nickelés: comédie en 1 acte (Nickel-plated Feet, i.e. Those Who Don’t Work: A Comedy in One Act) [First performed in Paris at the Théâtre de l’Oeuvre, March 15, 1895. Cover illustrations by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec] (Paris: P. Ollendorff, 1895). Graphic Arts Collection (GAX) 2015- in process
On the front of this book [above], Lautrec has drawn three figures. The woman seen at the bottom has been identified as the pianist Misia Sert (born Maria Zofia Olga Zenajda Godebska, 1872-1950) who was a patron to many French artists and with her first husband Thadée Natanson, hosted a salon in Paris. She also posed for many of the painters, including Lautrec.
Tristan Bernard (1866-1947), Le fardeau de la liberté; comédie en un acte (The Burden of Liberty. A Comedy in One Act) [Cover illustrations by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec] (Paris: Éditions de la Revue blanche, 1897). Graphic Arts Collection (GAX) 2015- in process.
Louis Marsolleau (1864-1935) and Arthur Byl (died 1908), Hors les lois: comʹedie en un acte (Outside the Law: a Comedy in One Act) [Performed first at the Thʹeatre Antoine, Nov. 5, 1897. Cover illustrations by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec] (Paris: P.-V. Stock, 1898). Graphic Arts Collection (GAX) 2015- in process
If you open the wrapper fully on this volume, you will see a couple watching two costumed actors admiring a bust of Molière. Lautrec went to the theater often and designed both posters and programs for many productions.