Gazette du Bon Ton. Art, Modes & Frivolités. Second Year: Volume Two, 4 Numbers in wrappers, 4 partial Numbers.
Paris: Librairie Centrale des Beaux-Arts, 1914. First printing. The second volume (9 issues) of this spectacular fashion magazine and triumph of pochoir coloring. A total of 56 pochoir color plates of which 51 are single, 4 are doubles and 1 is triple, some by Georges Barbier.
The "Gazette du Bon Ton" was a leading fashion magazine published from 1912 to 1925, publishing the latest developments in fashion, lifestyle and beauty during a period of revolutionary change in art and society. It was issued almost monthly from 1912 to 1915, breaking from publishing during World War I (1916-19) and continued into 1925.
The magazine signed exclusive contracts with seven of Paris's top couture houses (Cheruit, Doeuillet, Doucet, Paquin, Poiret, Redfern, and Worth) so that the designers' fashions were shown only in the pages of the Gazette. With an annual subscription of 100 francs, the equivalent of over $400 today, its elitism was assured. To elevate the Gazette's literary status, the publication featured essays on fashion by established writers from other fields, including novelist Marcel Astruc, playwright Henri de Regnier, decorator Claude Roger-Marx, art historian Jean-Louis Vaudoyer and even their own famed illustrator, George Barbier.
But the crowning achievement of the Gazette was the lavishly designed and carefully executed prints of the high fashion of the day. Printed in pochoir, which used a different stencil for each color and shade in a print, the prints are vibrant works of art and fantasy.
9 issues, from Volume II Number 1, January 1914, through Summer 1914. A total of 56 pochoir color plates of which 51 are single, 4 are doubles and 1 is triple; numerous full page color plates of advertisements. The text is also superbly illustrated.
Georges Barbier pochoir color plates in these issues include 3 singles (plates 12, 18 & 27) and 2 doubles (plates 2 & 3). These single plates consist of: Plate 12, "Coromandel", is stunning, highlighted in gold leaf; Plate 18, "La Joueuse de Theorbe", depicts a woman playing a lute; and Plate 27, "La Fontaine de Coquillages" is printed in many lovely blue hues. The Barbier double plates are entitled, "Vichy (I) or Soyez tous bien sages", and "Vichy (II) ou Le Jeu des Marionettes", lovely scenes of women and children in elegant dress.
Individual issues, four in their original wrappers (Feb, March, April and Ete) with text, plates and advertisements; the months of January, May, June and July consist of plates only. Volume II (2e Annee), 9 issues numbered 1 to 9 partially complete. A full & exact list of the plate numbers is available. March issue split and chipped at lower edge of wrapper spine, and April with scattered fox spotting on wrappers; plates bright and clean, very good condition. Very good condition. Item #26106
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