Bidspirit auction | Very Rare and Expensive: Five

Very Rare and Expensive: Five Luxurious Volumes from the Societe des Beaux Arts Series - Printed in Only 20 Copies - Five books published by - Paris: Societe des Beaux Arts. Around 1895. All five were published in an edition of only 20 copies and are numbered S on the colophon page: edition de deux mondes limited to twenty copies of which nine copies are for America. Here are the books: 1. Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet. with illustrations by J. Wagrez and Louis Titz 2. Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra. with illustrations by Paul Avril. 3. Longus: Daphnis and Chloe. with illustrations by Raphael Collin. 4. Gustave Flaubert: A Simple Heart. with illustrations by Emile Adan. 5. Gustave Flaubert: Herodias. with illustrations by Georges Rochegrosse. Each book contains dozens of beautiful engravings by various artists, some of the engravings are colored. All the engravings are separated by parchment paper. The book is printed on Japon vellum paper. Magnificent and impressive covers of blue-green morocco leather with many gold decorations on both sides of the cover and on the spine. Gilded page margins. Very rare and expensive books, a single copy of which can reach more than two thousand dollars in auctions worldwide. Size: 27X20 cm. The books are in perfect condition. All five are protected by leather dust wrappers (one of which has a tear).