La Plume. Revue Littéraire et Artistique Bi-Mensuelle. Directeur et Redacteur en Chef: Léon Deschamps
Plume
Paris. 1889–1898
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The first ten years of La Plume complete with all the original issue wrappers and annual wrappers; the wrappers in the later numbers were designed by Grasset or Mucha.
One of the most influential revues of the fin-de-siècle. Deschamps championed poetry above all but was also important in promoting the Art Nouveau artists, Mucha, Chéret, de Feure, Grasset, Ensor, Degas, G. Moreau, etc. This collection includes the most important years of the revue which ceased publication in 1904; Deschamps, the founding editor, died at the end of 1899.
Also included - tipped-in at the beginning of vol. 1 - is an original letter dated 20 September 1889 from Deschamps on La Plume stationary to a subscriber, where he states his intentions for the revue: 'Nous voulons être la première revue littéraire de France; pour cela nous publions tous les genres de littérature ... on peut dire que La Plume n'est pas l'oeuvre d'une coterie, mais bien ... de toute la jeune [underlined] littérature française et étrangère. Notre devise est Place aux Jeunes [underlined] et nous le maintiendrons malgré tout.'
When Deschamps founded La Plume in 1889, his main focus - as can be seen from the letter quoted above - was poetry, and, although his preference was for the poetry of Les Décadents, he also published work by the Symbolists, Romantics and others and sought contributions from young, unknown poets. Success for the magazine required further material and Deschamps increased the artistic content of the magazine, devoting series of issues to Art Nouveau subjects and artists (Rops, Mucha and Ensor in particular), Japonisme, the poster, the current Salons and so on. Deschamps furthered the artistic side of the magazine with a permanent running exhibition at the offices of La Plume in the rue Bonaparte, Le Salon des Cents, featuring work by contemporary artists: Chéret, de Feure, Mucha, Grasset, Ensor, Degas, Moreau, Boutet, Lalique and Berthon all contributed, with Grasset and Mucha accorded individual exhibitions. With a new exhibition every two months, some 57 exhibitions were put on between 1894 and 1900. In combination with literary evenings, banquets, a publishing house and bookshop, these exhibitions helped maintain awareness of La Plume and ensured its high circulation.
Contents include:
Year I. 15 Avril 1889 - 15 Décembre 1889. Nos 1 - 17. With texts by Huysmans, Laforgue, Mallarmé, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Zola, and others.
Year II. 1 Janvier 1890 - 15 Décembre 1890. Nos 18 - 40. With issue dedicated to Les Décadents and the supplement to no. 40, Concours de Sonnets, Pièces Envoyées au Concours. Texts by Barbey d'Aurevilly, Baudelaire, Coppée, Mallarmé, Richepin, Rimbaud, Verlaine and others.
Year III. 1 Janvier 1891 - 15 Décembre 1891. Nos 41 - 64. With issues dedicated to (amongst others) 'Symbolisme de Jean Moréas', 'Aristide Bruant et au Mirliton', 'Ethique de Maurice Barrès', 'Littérature Socialiste', 'Jeune-Belgique', 'Peintres Novateurs (Chromo-luminaristes, néo-traditionnistes, indépendants)' - Denis, Gauguin, Seurat, Signac, Pissarro, etc., 'Livre Moderne et åa la Curiosité Littéraire' (Edited by Uzanne), 'Chanson Moderne' and so on. Texts by Bloy, Mirbeau, Remacle, Verlaine, Mallarmé, and others.
Year IV. 1 Janvier 1892 - 15 Décembre 1892. Nos 65 - 88. With exceptional numbers: 'Chansons Populaire au Japon', 'Soirées de La Plume', 'La Magie', 'Etrennes littéraires et la maison Quantin', etc.
Year V. 1 Janvier 1893 - 15 Décembre 1893. Nos. 89 - 112. With exceptional numbers: 'L'Anarchisme', 'Hommage à Victor Hugo', 'L'Art et la Femme au Japon', 'L'affiche illustrée', 'Les Poitevins', etc.
Year VI. 1 Janvier 1894 - 15 Décembre 1894. Nos. 113 - 136. With exceptional numbers: 'Eugène Grasset', 'Le Congrés des Poétes', 'Les Bretons de Bretagne', etc. With many wrappers designed by Grasset.
Year VII. 1 Janvier 1895 - 15 Décembre 1895. Nos. 137 - 160. With exceptional numbers: 'L'Affiche Internationale Illustrée', L'Art Limousin', 'L'Ecole Lorraine d'Art Decoratif', 'Henri Boutet', 'Puvis de Chavannes', etc.
Year VIII. 1 Janvier 1896 - 15 Décembre 1896. Nos. 161 - 184. With exceptional numbers: 'Paul Verlaine', 'Les Salons de 1896', 'Felicien Rops' (eight consecutive numbers with a tentative catalogue raisonné of the graphic work).
Year IX. 1 Janvier 1897 - 15 Décembre 1897. Nos. 185 - 208. With exceptional numbers: 'Alphonse Mucha' (six numbers), 'Jules Valadon', 'Les Salons de 1897', 'Naturisme et à M. Saint-Georges de Bouhélier' etc. With coloured covers designed by Mucha.
Year X. 1 Janvier 1898 - 15 Décembre 1898. Nos 209 - 232. With exceptional numbers: 'James Ensor' (six fascicules in five numbers) and 'Alexandre Falguière, Sculpteur et Peintre' (six fascicules in five numbers).
One of the most influential revues of the fin-de-siècle. Deschamps championed poetry above all but was also important in promoting the Art Nouveau artists, Mucha, Chéret, de Feure, Grasset, Ensor, Degas, G. Moreau, etc. This collection includes the most important years of the revue which ceased publication in 1904; Deschamps, the founding editor, died at the end of 1899.
Also included - tipped-in at the beginning of vol. 1 - is an original letter dated 20 September 1889 from Deschamps on La Plume stationary to a subscriber, where he states his intentions for the revue: 'Nous voulons être la première revue littéraire de France; pour cela nous publions tous les genres de littérature ... on peut dire que La Plume n'est pas l'oeuvre d'une coterie, mais bien ... de toute la jeune [underlined] littérature française et étrangère. Notre devise est Place aux Jeunes [underlined] et nous le maintiendrons malgré tout.'
When Deschamps founded La Plume in 1889, his main focus - as can be seen from the letter quoted above - was poetry, and, although his preference was for the poetry of Les Décadents, he also published work by the Symbolists, Romantics and others and sought contributions from young, unknown poets. Success for the magazine required further material and Deschamps increased the artistic content of the magazine, devoting series of issues to Art Nouveau subjects and artists (Rops, Mucha and Ensor in particular), Japonisme, the poster, the current Salons and so on. Deschamps furthered the artistic side of the magazine with a permanent running exhibition at the offices of La Plume in the rue Bonaparte, Le Salon des Cents, featuring work by contemporary artists: Chéret, de Feure, Mucha, Grasset, Ensor, Degas, Moreau, Boutet, Lalique and Berthon all contributed, with Grasset and Mucha accorded individual exhibitions. With a new exhibition every two months, some 57 exhibitions were put on between 1894 and 1900. In combination with literary evenings, banquets, a publishing house and bookshop, these exhibitions helped maintain awareness of La Plume and ensured its high circulation.
Contents include:
Year I. 15 Avril 1889 - 15 Décembre 1889. Nos 1 - 17. With texts by Huysmans, Laforgue, Mallarmé, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Zola, and others.
Year II. 1 Janvier 1890 - 15 Décembre 1890. Nos 18 - 40. With issue dedicated to Les Décadents and the supplement to no. 40, Concours de Sonnets, Pièces Envoyées au Concours. Texts by Barbey d'Aurevilly, Baudelaire, Coppée, Mallarmé, Richepin, Rimbaud, Verlaine and others.
Year III. 1 Janvier 1891 - 15 Décembre 1891. Nos 41 - 64. With issues dedicated to (amongst others) 'Symbolisme de Jean Moréas', 'Aristide Bruant et au Mirliton', 'Ethique de Maurice Barrès', 'Littérature Socialiste', 'Jeune-Belgique', 'Peintres Novateurs (Chromo-luminaristes, néo-traditionnistes, indépendants)' - Denis, Gauguin, Seurat, Signac, Pissarro, etc., 'Livre Moderne et åa la Curiosité Littéraire' (Edited by Uzanne), 'Chanson Moderne' and so on. Texts by Bloy, Mirbeau, Remacle, Verlaine, Mallarmé, and others.
Year IV. 1 Janvier 1892 - 15 Décembre 1892. Nos 65 - 88. With exceptional numbers: 'Chansons Populaire au Japon', 'Soirées de La Plume', 'La Magie', 'Etrennes littéraires et la maison Quantin', etc.
Year V. 1 Janvier 1893 - 15 Décembre 1893. Nos. 89 - 112. With exceptional numbers: 'L'Anarchisme', 'Hommage à Victor Hugo', 'L'Art et la Femme au Japon', 'L'affiche illustrée', 'Les Poitevins', etc.
Year VI. 1 Janvier 1894 - 15 Décembre 1894. Nos. 113 - 136. With exceptional numbers: 'Eugène Grasset', 'Le Congrés des Poétes', 'Les Bretons de Bretagne', etc. With many wrappers designed by Grasset.
Year VII. 1 Janvier 1895 - 15 Décembre 1895. Nos. 137 - 160. With exceptional numbers: 'L'Affiche Internationale Illustrée', L'Art Limousin', 'L'Ecole Lorraine d'Art Decoratif', 'Henri Boutet', 'Puvis de Chavannes', etc.
Year VIII. 1 Janvier 1896 - 15 Décembre 1896. Nos. 161 - 184. With exceptional numbers: 'Paul Verlaine', 'Les Salons de 1896', 'Felicien Rops' (eight consecutive numbers with a tentative catalogue raisonné of the graphic work).
Year IX. 1 Janvier 1897 - 15 Décembre 1897. Nos. 185 - 208. With exceptional numbers: 'Alphonse Mucha' (six numbers), 'Jules Valadon', 'Les Salons de 1897', 'Naturisme et à M. Saint-Georges de Bouhélier' etc. With coloured covers designed by Mucha.
Year X. 1 Janvier 1898 - 15 Décembre 1898. Nos 209 - 232. With exceptional numbers: 'James Ensor' (six fascicules in five numbers) and 'Alexandre Falguière, Sculpteur et Peintre' (six fascicules in five numbers).
pp. 186; 238, 25, 239 - 265; 484; 590; 554; 535; 594; 805; 827, (14, ads.); 784. French text in double columns; many later issues unopened. Wrappers on various coloured papers. 10 years in 9 vols. Large 8vo. Profusely illustrated in monochrome throughout and with additional colour illustration, etched or engraved frontispieces to years IV - X. Contemporary green buckram-backed marbled boards, banded spines with titles gilt in six compartments, marbled endpapers, pages uncut, original printed issue wrappers and annual wrappers preserved, green silk placemarkers.
#39727
