Pigeon Vole. Aventures en l'Air.

1868. LANDELLE, Gabriel, de la. Pigeon Vole. Aventures en l'Air. 414 pp., profusely illustrated. 8vo, 185 x 116 mm., bound in publisher's wrappers in a new red cloth folding box with a blue label. Paris: P. Brunet, 1868. A sound copy of a scarce little jewel of a book, which anticipates the books created by artists such as Max Ernst and Joseph Cornell. The pages are not only alive with images and ornaments, but there is the occasional use of red, blue and green for additional dramatic effect. While ostensibly a book on aviation, any importance it might have as such is distinctly overshadowed by the striking mise-en-page, and its role as a precursor of twentieth century avant-garde book design. The spine is broken but intact and the wrappers are worn. However, this is definitely an acceptable copy of a great rarity. Andel, The Avant-Garde Book 1900-1945, p. 10.