André Gill. Les Chansons des grues et des boas. Paris, chez tous les libraires [A. Parent], 1865. In-8°. [16] pp. including title, typographical ornament to title and 6 lithographs by Gill out of text Strawberry percal Bradel, black morocco piece with title and year, light blue cover preserved. (G. Gauché, Paris).
First edition.
« Victor Hugo revu et corrigé à la plume et au crayon par Gill ». To mark the publication of Chansons des rues et des bois (Songs of the Streets and Woods), the famous caricaturist André Gill (1840-1885) produced a parody of the collection, illustrated in particular by a portrait of Victor Hugo, depicted as a young man, “a silhouette from days gone by”, when he was writing Notre-Dame de Paris.
The little parody was not well received by the poet. On 3 January 1866, he wrote to Louise Colet: “One acclaims the verses of M. de Massa and one boo Les Chansons des Rues et des Bois. A parody is entitled Les Chansons des Grues et des Boas. These songs, in fact, have been heard around my book“. The tone is not hostile, however, and is often amusing. The pieces parodied include “Interruption à une lecture de Platon” [now “Interruption à une lecture de Hugo”], “Réalité”, “En sortant du collège”, “Paupertas”, “Réponse à l’esprit des bois” [now “Réponse à T. T.”], “Saison des semailles. Le soir” [now “Saison de la vente – Le soir”] and “Au cheval” [illustrated by a hobbled old Pegasus]. ;
and with a caricature illustrating the famous line from “Senior est junior”: “As-tu déjeuné Jacob? [a line commented on by Hugo in the aforementioned letter to Louise Colet: “The priests threaten you and they denounce me. As-tu déjeuné, Jacob? is a blasphemy”],
as well as another drawing with an ironic comment about the “torchon radieux” [“radiant rags”] in “Choses écrites à Créteil”.
Gill’s grating poem “L’anniversaire” [The Birthday] is worth noting: “How happy he is today / The man of countless masterpieces / Under an immense appetite, / The dark poetic instinct // On such a day, on earth, / An admirable work appeared, / The sale of which, at Pagnerre’s, / Was in no way miserable. […] “.
Label of André Lebreton (Poitiers, 1860 – Paris, 1931), professor at the Faculté des lettres in Paris and a specialist in French literature; he left several works on Victor Hugo: Les Premiers romans sociaux de Victor Hugo (1923), La jeunesse de Victor Hugo (1928), Victor Hugo académicien (1929) and Victor Hugo chez Louis-Philippe (1929).
Vicaire, Manuel de l’amateur de livres du XIXe siècle, volume III, columns 978-979 and volume IV, column 336.
Unavoidable foxing, small rings, fading spots on cover preserved, small restored tear on 4th cover. Very good condition.
A rare parody.
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