James Cummins Bookseller

[Paris]: A. Legoupy. [Ateliers de Reproductions Fortier et Marotte, 1905].

First edition. 34 chromolithographic plates (including pictorial title) after watercolors by Roque, printed contents leaf (printed recto only). 1 vols. Oblong folio (19 X 13 inches). Rare Belle Epoque Sporting work with a nostalgic letter from the artist. Original burgundy cloth and boards, upper cover title with titles and the hunt button of a running boar. Some slight edgewear to corners, almost fine Thiébaud 790-791 ("tiré à petit nombre; rare"). OCLC: 54265360 (Yale). Item #237445

Charming belle epoque sporting work on the hunt of the Château du Francport, one of the oldest and most prestigious in France. The album of watercolors by Roque includes hunting scenes and portraits of the master - the marquis de l'Aigle - and principal members, as well as guests and followers in their carriages (and early motorcars), and the hunt costume of grey and amaranth; the final plate is a view of the Château and a recumbent hound with a large Aigle monogram. The hunt was disbanded with the onset of war in the Oise valley in August 1914; the Château du Francport is situated in the forest of Compiègne, a few hundred meters from the site of the Armistice.

Loosely inserted is a 3 pp. autograph letter from the artist, signed ("P. Roque"), dated 4 November 1946. Writing from Montifray, Beaumont la Ronce, Indre et Loire, to an unnamed friend of long standing, Roque apologizes for writing in Fench ("plus à mon aise dans ma langue paternelle, et puis peu importe langue puisque vous les parlez à peu pres toutes"), discussing Haïphong, in Indochina, "ce pays que nous avons connu si tranquille", and recalling earlier days and discussing his circumstances in the aftermath of the Second World War, which he spent in the family château in Indre et Loire. Roque was the nephew of Victor and Xavier Roque, brothers who built a shipping and manufacturing fortune in French Indochina.

Price: $2,000.00 Free International Delivery