L'ART DANS LA DÉCORATION EXTÉRIEURE DES LIVRES - Les Couvertures Illustrées, Les Cartonnages d'Éditeurs, La Reliure d'Art. Par OCTAVE UZANNE.

[ART in the EXTERIOR DECORATION of BOOKS - Illustrated Covers, Publishers' Bindings, Art Bindings. By Octave Uzanne.]

SIGNED and INSCRIBED PRESENTATION COPY. Inscribed on the half-title page by OCTAVE UZANNE to the renowned book collector JAMES CARLETON YOUNG. The inscription reads:

"à James Carleton Young / Un ami des livres dédicacés pour qui bien volontiers J'offre en décoration extérieur de celui-ci la signature de son ami / Octave Uzanne".

(to James Carleton Young / A friend of dedicated books for whom I gladly offer as an exterior decoration of this one the signature of his friend / Octave Uzanne)

PARIS: Société Française d'Editions d'Art / L-Henry May, 1898. LIMITED EDITION of only 1060 copies. This copy is an unnumbered presentation copy.

FINE-BINDING. The original softcover book, including the front and rear wrappers, are bound in fine contemporary hardcovers, 3/4 leather and marbled paper covered boards, five raised spine bands, gilt spine titling, marbled endpapers, and gilt top page edges; 8x10.5 inches, VI, 272 pages.

ILLUSTRATED throughout with examples of decorative artistic covers, bindings and cases.

VERY GOOD condition: The hardcover binding has some scrapes to the leather at the spine ends, spine folds, and corners, but overall the fine-binding is solid and attractive. The bound-in original softcover book is very nice, the pages are lightly toned, as normal, otherwise tight, bright, clean and clear. The personal inscription by Octave Uzanne to James Carleton Young is bright and clear.

A lovely, presentation copy of this rare book that deserves to go from the home of one great collector, James Carleton Young, to another.

You can read all about the amazing French bibliophile, writer and publisher OCTAVE UZANNE on his wikipedia page and many other places on the Internet.

Here is some information about the lesser known Minnesota bibliophile JAMES CARLETON YOUNG (from the Hennepin County Library website):

******James Carleton Young, b.1856 d.1918, was an internationally known Midwest American

book collector. He graduated with an M.A. from Cornell College in 1876, and in 1909 Cornell presented him with its first-ever Doctor of Literature degree. He became wealthy buying and selling mid-west real estate, and used almost all of it to acquire first edition books.

Young collected first editions of both contemporary and non-contemporary authors, often sending the contemporary books to their authors with a request that they inscribe them. In Europe Young was given the title "Le Roi des Livres". Young was named honorary commissioner to the Paris exposition of 1878, elected as one of the three foreign members to the Société Des Amis Des Livres in Paris, awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1910, made a Fellow to the Royal Geographical Society of London, and received awards from many other important European and American book clubs and societies. The books in his library ultimately numbered in the tens of thousands and required the services of a full-time librarian, bookkeeper, several assistants, catalogers, translators, and agents.

Mounting obstacles to his dream of keeping the collection together and eventually donating it to the Smithsonian forced him to allow it to be auctioned off in installments by the Anderson galleries in New York in 1916. Young took consolation that his books would "pass into the possession of my fellow collectors and enrich hundreds of public and private libraries." He ended up being much better known abroad than in America, and relatively unknown in Minneapolis.******

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This book will require additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the charges and be able to accept or reject them before payment is taken. Thanks!