SAMARY (Jeanne) — Charlotte’s Delicacies. Preface by Édouard - Lot 258

SAMARY (Jeanne) — Charlotte’s Delicacies. Preface by Édouard Pailleron. Illustrations by Job [Jacques Onfroy de Bréville]. Paris, Librairie Hachette et Cie, 79 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 1914. Large quarto, publisher’s illustrated cardboard binding, yellow cloth spine, green front cover adorned with the title and three color illustrations in medallions, small vignette on the back cover. The book is richly illustrated in color by Job, with the illustrations closely integrated into the typography and layout. New edition of a famous children’s picture book originally published by Hachette in 1890. The BnF confirms this as the first edition from 1890. This is the only book by Jeanne Samary (1857–1890), a member of the Comédie-Française and a well-known model for Renoir. In the form of a children’s fable, it recounts the misadventures of Charlotte, an excessively greedy little girl who, refusing to eat anything other than sugar, gradually shrinks before finally returning to a sensible diet. Job’s illustrations are particularly interesting: plays on scale, silhouettes, domestic scenes, and colorful compositions directly accompany the unfolding of the story. The book is now considered one of the defining works of his body of work for young readers. A very modest copy but apparently complete. The hardcover is heavily scuffed and soiled, with worn corners and a faded spine showing signs of wear. Endpapers and pages show foxing and soiling; several pages are heavily handled, with creases, marginal tears, and small missing sections, particularly on the last few pages. Some tears extend quite deeply into the margins. The binding is worn, with visible weakness at certain sections.