Bidspirit auction | ALAUX (Jean-Paul). L'HISTOIRE Merveilleuse de

ALAUX (Jean-Paul). L'HISTOIRE Merveilleuse de Christophe Colomb, Gouverneur d'Hispaniola, Vice-Roi des Indes, Grand Amiral de la Mer Océane. Paris. 1924. - ALAUX (Jean-Paul) L'HISTOIRE Merveilleuse de Christophe Colomb, Gouverneur d'Hispaniola, Vice-Roi des Indes, Grand Amiral de la Mer Océane . Racontée par Jean-Paul Alaux; illustrée de curieuses gravures sur bois par Gustave Alaux; préface de Jean Charcot. Avec approbation et privilège de S. M. Alphonse XIII. Paris: Éditions d'Art Devambez, 1924. [10], VIII, 248 pp.: il.; 290 mm. Jean-Paul Alaux (Bordeaux, 1876-1955), a French architect, painter, and writer from a dynasty of Bordeaux artists, dedicated part of his literary work to maritime history and the great figures of navigation, most notably this fictionalized biography of Christopher Columbus. The wood engravings that profusely illustrate the volume are by his cousin, the painter Gustave Alaux (1887-1965), distinguished at the Salon des Artistes Français for his painting Christophe Colomb arrivant en vue du Nouveau Monde . The preface was written by Commander Jean-Baptiste Charcot (1867-1936), the celebrated French polar explorer, who defends, with arguments from a sailor, the veracity of episodes in Columbus's life questioned by some historians. L'Histoire Merveilleuse de Christophe Colomb narrates, in a vivid and sometimes legendary style, the life of the Genoese navigator from his earliest projects to his governorship of Hispaniola and viceroyalty of the Indies. A unique edition, published with the approval and privilege of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, in a total print run of 950 numbered copies, mostly 820, on Rives vellum paper. A small deluxe edition also exists on Japanese paper with original artwork and a supplementary suite of engravings. Illustrated with numerous woodcuts, historiated initials, and three fold-out maps, including two planispheres on the frontispiece. Esteemed and sought after by collectors of 20th-century French illustrated books. ⚑ Auto-translated via Google Translate