SCHMIED, François-Louis.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Le Paradis Musulman. First edition, number 5 of 157 copies printed on japon and signed by the illustrator as issued, from a total edition of 177. The text comprises Joseph Charles Mardrus's translation of Qur'anic passages on paradise. The illustrations are "a wonderful example of Schmied's later style. To convey the mood of this hedonistic paradise, Schmied incorporated into his distinctive geometric compositions a more highly chromatic palette, a certain opulence of design, and even a hint of whimsy in his overall approach. He depicted an eccentric and vivid universe filled with lighthearted natives and shimmering planetary bodies spinning through time" (Fox). A pressman later recalled,"there were some forty-five blocks required to be engraved for the title page and it took well over a month to print this one page" (Ritchie, p. 37).Provenance: Jules Exbrayat (1880-1958), president of the Société des Bibliophiles Franco-Suisses, with his booklabel; sold in his 1962 sale (third part, lot 190); noted elsewhere as acquired by Daniel Sicklès; afterwards owned by the Parisian booksellers Régine and Bernard Loliée, with their neat "RBL" monogram booklabel.

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