LYDIS, Mariette (illus.); POE, Edgar Allan.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Le Corbeau. Signed limited edition, out of series, this copy printed on japon for Yves and Georges Normandy, to whom the translator has inscribed the half-title: "À mes très cher amis Yves et Georges Normandy, de tout cœur, Armand Godoy". The frontispiece is signed by Lydis, a Paris-based artist acclaimed by the avant-garde, who fled France as the Nazis closed in.Mariette Lydis (1887-1970) settled in Paris in 1926. She excelled in several mediums, including painting, draughtsmanship, and printing, and regularly combined techniques: in this case, she paired etching with aquatint. Her artwork "often exuded a sense that her subjects are anxious or dreaming" (Artnet), making her an ideal candidate to provide a frontispiece for Poe's oblique and tormented poem. "Books were Lydis's most important medium, many published during the Parisian years in which she produced her best and most enigmatic work" (Croft & Jones, p. 3).Cuban by birth, the translator Armand Godoy (1880-1964) believed French was the language best suited to poetry. He composed many Symbolist poems in his second, preferred language. The recipient of this copy, Georges Ségaut, alias Normandy (1882-1946), was a journalist, writer, and literary critic. In 1919, he married the dancer Germaine Aymos (1887-1930), who became famous following her 1907 performance at the Moulin Rouge in which she appeared on stage wearing only three shells. She was arrested for public indecency and met Normandy while he reported on her trial

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