Gazette du Bon Ton. Art, Modes & Frivolités. Third Year: Volume Three, 7 Numbers in wrappers, 3 partial Numbers.
Paris: Librairie Centrale des Beaux-Arts, 1920. First printing. Ten issues of the third volume (7 of which include the Croquis or Sketches), of this spectacular fashion magazine and triumph of pochoir coloring. A total of 65 pochoir color plates and 36 Croquis plates.
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.
10 issues, from Volume III Number 1, February 1920, through Number 10, Revue Mensuelle, with Croquis in 7 of the Numbers. The Croquis or Sketches were additional prints in separate original folders inserted at the rear of some of the numbers. The 8 Croquis in Number 1 are entitled, "Croquis de modes par Raoul Dufy - Soiries de Bianchini-Férier & Cie, dessinées par Raoul Dufy".
A total of 65 pochoir color plates and 36 Croquis plates; numerous full page color plates of advertisements. The text is also superbly illustrated.
Individual issues, seven in their original wrappers (Jan-Feb, March, April, May, June, September & Revue Mensuelle) with text, plates and advertisements; the remaining months consist of plates only. Volume III (3e Annee), 10 issues numbered 1 to 10 partially complete. A full & exact list of the plate numbers is available. Number 3, April issue split and chipped at wrapper spine, and Number 10, slightly chipped at spine ends; plates bright and clean, very good condition. Very good condition. Item #26107
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