BARTHES ROLAND - Lot 155

BARTHES ROLAND Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) Parma / Milan / Paris, 1973, Franco Maria Ricci, coll. "Les signes de l'homme", n° 1 large in-4 (34.5 x 23 cm.) Black silk publisher's binding, color illustration pasted on first cover, slipcase. 189 pp. 78 full-page color reproductions, 1 sepia photographic reproduction, chronology by Erté. Printed on bluish paper specially handmade at Pietro Miliani's mill in Fabriano. Numbered edition of 1,500 copies. Important text by Roland Barthes, followed by an extract from Erté's memoirs. Romain de Tirtoff, known as Erté (Saint-Petersburg 1892-Paris 1990), born of a Ukrainian mother, arrived in Paris around 1910, where he discovered the work of Aubrey Beardsley. His career was launched when he designed sets for Paul Poiret's presentation of oriental dresses. He designed for the Gazette du Bon Ton, then for several decades for the fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar. His style made him one of the most original exponents of Art Deco, blending slender lines with decorative opulence through the use of gold and silver.