Bagatelles

Paris: (Maurice Darantiere), 1926.

Small 4to. 8 7/8 x 6 1/2 inches. (64) pp. Half-title, 11 color pochoir head-pieces to 11 literary pieces with 8 smaller pochoir tail-pieces of flowers; text clean, unmarked. Plain stiff-wrappers with a fold-over jacket with a pochoir illustration of a bouquet of flowers, clear mylar jacket; binding square and tight, original jacket rubbed. Laid-in is Miss Tessie Jones' calling card with ms. note and dated Christmas 1926 and a 3-page ALS from Miss Jones on 2305 Park Avenue, Minneapolis letterhead. GIL123-009. Very Good.

LIMITED EDITION of 100 numbered copies, this is number 14, printed in Dijon by H. P. Roche for Maurice Darantiere. A bagatelle is a short literary piece in light style, or literally, "a little thing without too much importance or value." This book consists of 11 pieces by Tessie Jones on a variety of topics. Tessie was the eldest child of Herschel V. Jones (1861-1928) who grew up on a farm, dropped out of high school, but became a newspaper publisher, though which means he became a wealthy man. Herschel Jones was an important American book and art collector who sold several important book collections, including Americana material. Tessie and her father gifted several important collections to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Minneapolis School of Art, and the JP Morgan Library.

Included in this volume is a bagatelle "On Collecting," which discusses the frustrations of living with an obsessive collector such as her father, who routinely accumulated and dispersed important collections of books and art. Included with this copy of Bagatelles, is a calling card of Tessie Jones marked "To Edith Brooks," and dated Christmas 1926. Also included is an autograph letter (3 pages) from Miss Jones to an un-named recipient (but likely Edith Brooks?). In it, Miss Jones gossips about family, residences, and writes a paragraph about the production of Bagatelles, explaining why the book was not available for distribution at Christmas 1926, for which the book was intended to be sent to friends. Robert Bonfils (1886-1971) was a French illustrator, painter and designer. Bonfils was born in Paris and studied at the École Germain Pilon and the École National Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, and the École des Beaux Arts. He showed his works regularly at many Paris venues beginning in 1909 and was one of the organizers of the 1925 International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris. He was created Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1926. 8 copies Worldcat.