12 Eaux-Fortes Originales (12 Original Etchings) [SIGNED]

Paris: Vernant et Dallé, n.d.. Limited first edition. Softcover. vg- to vg. 1/25. Folio. 12 loose plates. Illustrated tan paper portfolio, with an original etching, including black text mounted on the front cover. Front cover signed and hand-numbered by the artist. This is #22 from a limited edition of 25 copies. An extremely scare portfolio of 12 original etchings by Lorraine-based French-Jewish engraver, bookbinder, and bookseller René Wiener (1855-1939). The images are mostly evocative genre scenes and character studies from Wiener's local environment, the area of Nancy, in the Loraine region of France. Notably included are five images showing Jewish (truncated) life. All images are guarded with tissue paper, and hand-captioned in French and numbered in pencil at the extreme corners of the plates. Every plate also includes the artists ink stamp directly below the engraved image. The portfolio is not dated but was probably issued sometime between 1905-1915, based on its similarly to other works released by the artist during this time.* Text captions and on the front cover in French.

Portfolio with some minor staining, light creases, and scratches to the covers. Closed tears and chipping to the spine of the portfolio repaired and reinforced with Japan tissue. A few smalls stains to the interior of the portfolio. A few sporadic stains and/or creases to the tissue guards. Light sporadic smudges to the edges or margins of the plates. Images clean and bright. Portfolio in very good-, plates in overall very good condition. Portfolio protected in modern mylar. René Wiener (1855-1939) was French-Jewish artist, bibliophile and bookbinder, best know as a bookseller/publisher engraver, and creator of artistic book bindings in the city of Nancy, France. He was big promoter of the artists of the region, and was associated with the Nancy Art School, which was know for their contributions to the development of Art Nouveau in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His father, Lucien Wiener (1828-1909) an art collector, archeologist and bookseller, was a noted figure in the artistic community and culture of Nancy, who served as a chief curator of the Lorraine Museum from 1889 to 1907.

*There is little to no information on this extremely scarce portfolio or its publisher. No records online at all, including OCLC. Wiener was known to have issued another portfolio of 6 different etchings titled "Type Juifs" sometime during the same period. (Inventory #: 50580)