Aphrodite.

Paris: Librairie Borel,, 1896. One of the best-selling novels of the Belle Époque First illustrated edition, a handsomely bound copy of the author's first novel. Aphrodite launched Louÿs's career: it was the best-selling work by any living French author of the time, thanks in no small part to the scandal caused by its libertine themes. The book depicts courtesan life in a fictionalized Mediterranean antiquity, with illustrations throughout by Antoine Calbet. Originally conceived as a three-act drama, the novel was serialized in Le Mercure de France between August 1895 and January 1896. The first edition of the book was published on 28 March 1896 and sold out within ten days. "Stripped of its digressions and dancing girls, the narrative tells of a young sculptor, Démétrios, who becomes the lover of Bérénice, Queen of Egypt. The Queen commissions a monumental statue of naked Aphrodite, for which she will be the model, to stand in a new temple, built in gardens near the sea. The marble sculpture stands on a plinth of pink stone and wears a seven-string necklace whose largest pearl hangs between her breasts, 'comme un croissant de lune entre deux nuages ronds'" (Read). The illustrator, Antoine Calbet, was a gifted watercolourist, renown for his studies of languid female nudes. He illustrated books by Emile Zola, Guy de Maupaussant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Paul Verlaine. Tall octavo (194 x 95 mm). Finely bound by Flammarion in full green morocco, spine lettered, ruled, and tooled in gilt, green onlay knot borders on spine and covers, covers ruled in gilt with gilt floral tools and orange onlay floral designs, turn-ins tooled in gilt with light blue onlay leaves at corners, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, multicoloured silk bookmarker. Housed in a custom leather-entry marbled slipcase. With original wrappers bound-in at front and rear. Blue lotus vignette on first blank, pink illustrated frontispiece, title page printed in pink and black with vignette in blue, one full-page illustration in blue facing preface, monochrome illustrations throughout, all after etchings by Calbet. With pp. 2 table of contents and 1 page of advertisements at end. Spine lightly sunned, a hint of rubbing to spine ends and corners, a little foxing to fore edge. A near-fine copy. Peter Read, "Pierre Louÿs, Rodin, and Aphrodite: Sculpture in Fiction and on the Stage, 1895-1914", French Studies: A Quarterly Review, Vol. 61, No. 1, January 2007.