Lovely Decor Blue/Gray Linen Works of Theophile Gautier S/24 1901

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The Works of Theophile Gautier Complete Set. This is the George D. Sproul 1902 Limited Edition: A 24-volume set from … Read more The Works of Theophile Gautier Complete Set. This is the George D. Sproul 1902 Limited Edition: A 24-volume set from 1902, also limited to 1000 copies. This set is numbered 472. It is in very good condition. Black and white illustrations depict various elements of stories contained herein and are photogravure or engravings. Lovely color for display.

Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier (30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic.

While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and remains a point of reference for many subsequent literary traditions such as Parnassianism, Symbolism, Decadence and Modernism. He was widely esteemed by writers as disparate as Balzac, Baudelaire, the Goncourt brothers, Flaubert, Pound, Eliot, James, Proust and Wilde.

The young Gautier's appearance was "flamboyant…defying conventionality by his flowing hair and far-famed scarlet waistcoat."

In his youth, according to Edgar Saltus, Gautier was dashing, athletic, amorous, and mercurial:
He was tall and robust; his hair was a wayward flood; his eyes were blue and victorious. He was the image of Young France. His strength was proverbial; he outdid Dante; he swam from Marseilles to the Chateau d’If, and then swam back. [...] women fell in love with him at once.

While at school, Gautier was introduced to Victor Hugo, by then already a leading dramatist. Hugo became a major influence on Gautier. Towards the end of 1830, Gautier began to frequent meetings of Le Petit Cénacle (The Little Art Circle), a group of artists who met in the studio of Jehan Du Seigneur. The group was a more irresponsible version of Hugo's Cénacle. Among its members were the artists Gérard de Nerval, Alexandre Dumas, père, Petrus Borel, Alphonse Brot, and Philothée O’Neddy. Le Petit Cénacle soon gained a reputation for extravagance and eccentricity.

The 1860s were years of assured literary fame for Gautier. In 1865, Gautier was admitted into the prestigious salon of Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, cousin of Napoleon III and niece to Bonaparte. The Princess offered Gautier a sinecure as her librarian in 1868, a position that gave him access to the court of Napoleon III.

His works include numerous poetry, plays, novels, and short stories. The set is complete with 24 numbered limited edition volumes. The set is 34" x 8.5" x 6". Books will be wrapped and shipped in two padded boxes weighing 15 pounds each. See less