Le Douanier Rousseau

Paris: Quatre Chemins-Editart, 1953. First Edition. Of an edition limited to 950 numbered copies, this is copy number 8 of the 50 deluxe copies printed on Rives paper. Text in French. Paperbound, 7 3/4” x 11 1/4”, 29 pages. With a tipped-in frontispiece photographic portrait of the great French artist, Henri Rousseau, and 6 tipped-in facsimiles of letters written by Rousseau. Fine in printed wrappers with the original glassine jacket. Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (1844 – 1910) was a French Post-Impressionist painter known for his naive, primitive style. The (truncated) title, ‘Le Douanier’ translates as ‘the customs officer,’ referring to Rousseau’s place of employment, thus highlighting the contrast between the relative banality of his occupation and his creative genius, which generally went unrecognized in his lifetime. (Inventory #: 17088E)