Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d’Orphée
This imposing edition of *Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d’Orphée* pairs Guillaume Apollinaire’s canonical poetry with 33 original burin engravings by Tavy Notton. Published in 1962, more than half a century after the first appearance of Apollinaire’s bestiary, it is a distinctly postwar bibliophile reinterpretation of an early modernist text. Notton translates the brief emblematic poems into powerful black-and-white engravings, including nine double-page compositions. This copy is no. 119, one of 136 copies numbered 64–199 on vélin d’Arches. It belongs to the regular deluxe issue without an additional suite, while retaining all the original engravings created for the book. The edition represents the first printing of Notton’s illustrations, which were subsequently reused for a substantially larger edition. The interior grades Near Fine and the slipcase Very Good, giving an overall condition of Very Good+ to Near Fine. Its particular appeal lies in being a refined postwar bibliophilic reinterpretation of an avant-garde canonical text.
Quantity
Apollinaire, Guillaume
Tavy Notton
Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d’Orphée
1962 | Paris | Aux dépens de l’artiste
This edition unites a canonical text by Apollinaire with an ambitious postwar cycle of original burin engravings. Copy no. 119 is an attractive, well-preserved example of the first printing of Notton’s illustrations and forms a meaningful link between the historical avant-garde and later French bibliophilia.
This imposing edition of *Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d’Orphée* pairs Guillaume Apollinaire’s canonical poetry with 33 original burin engravings by Tavy Notton. Published in 1962, more than half a century after the first appearance of Apollinaire’s bestiary, it is a distinctly postwar bibliophile reinterpretation of an early modernist text. Notton translates the brief emblematic poems into powerful black-and-white engravings, including nine double-page compositions. This copy is no. 119, one of 136 copies numbered 64–199 on vélin d’Arches. It belongs to the regular deluxe issue without an additional suite, while retaining all the original engravings created for the book. The edition represents the first printing of Notton’s illustrations, which were subsequently reused for a substantially larger edition. The interior grades Near Fine and the slipcase Very Good, giving an overall condition of Very Good+ to Near Fine. Its particular appeal lies in being a refined postwar bibliophilic reinterpretation of an avant-garde canonical text.
€420
Condition Report:
In-Depth Study
References & Bibliography
Format
In-folio (Folio) approx. 30 × 40 cm
Edition Particulars
Copy no. 119, one of 136 copies numbered 64–199 on vélin d’Arches, without an additional suite.
Print Run
200
Copy Number
No. 119
Paper
vélin d’Arches
Inscription
No inscription
Product DETAIL
*Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d’Orphée* is a sequence of short poems, each centred on an animal, mythical creature or emblematic figure. Apollinaire draws upon the medieval bestiary tradition, in which animals are not merely described but endowed with moral, symbolic or spiritual significance. Orpheus acts as the unifying figure, turning the sequence into a poetic procession. Birds, fish, insects and mammals are linked to love, poetry, desire, religion and aspects of human character. Rather than forming a continuous narrative, the poems constitute a carefully arranged series of verbal emblems. Their brevity and visual intensity make them especially suitable for collaboration with graphic artists. In this edition, the poems are confronted with Tavy Notton’s monumental burin engravings. The work belongs to Apollinaire’s early modernist period, combining the ancient emblematic tradition with strikingly modern concision.
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