Le Florentin

Paris: Editions Philibert, 1956. First edition. Hardcover. Aeg. Fine. Becat, Paul-Emile. 9.5 x 6 cm. Complete deck of cards, No. 2072 of 12,000. Le Florentin is a particularly interesting series because, as is traditional with playing cards, the images are reversible so every card in the royal suite has two interpretations depending on which way up you hold them that seamlessly flow into one another. Possibly the most prolific illustrator of erotic literature ever to have graced the genre, Paul-Émile Bécat was born and grew up in Paris and studied at l’École de Beaux-Arts under Gabriel Ferrier and François Flameng, first exhibiting at the Salon de Paris in 1913. Printed by Draeger Freres. Without case.