The Bound Folio:
Célestin Nanteuil (1813-1873)
ed. Nathan Chaïkin & Paul Gavault 

Célestin Nanteuil. Images by Célestin Nanteuil, ed. Nathan Chaïkin & Paul Gavault.

Physical Description

1. The meat of the folio consists of 81 lithographs, each folded in the centre; each reproduces a preparatory drawing by Nanteuil on the left, and the finished work as originally published on the right. The number and fascicule of each print is inscribed in the lower outside corner, corresponding to the catalogue (see below).
2. These lithographs are grouped into fascicules of 10–22 prints; each fascicule also includes a catalogue of the relevant prints, sometimes with critical notes by Chaïkin. 
3. Each fascicule is housed in its own folder, printed with titles and numbered 1–6.
4. In addition to the six fascicules, there is a book containing introductory material, a critical essay by Chaïkin on Nanteuil's work, short biographies of the latter and Gavault, and a collection of reminiscences and critical appreciations by Nanteuil's contemporaries and those influenced by him.
5. All of the above are housed in a sturdy, customized cloth-bound folder composed of three panels (a spine with embossed title and author, and two covers).
6. All of the above slide into a matching box, with one side open to display the folder's spine while firmly securing the loose prints within, as in a boxed set of books.

Basic information on each fascicle, and a sample print from it, are given below. The samples reflect my personal favourites from each grouping, and present a rather darker ensemble than Gavault's collection as a whole, providing a negotiation of Gavault's, Chaïkin's, and my own perspectives on Nanteuil's work. Detailed contents of each fascicule will be added gradually, as time allows.

  

Sample pages of fascicule binder cover & catalogue (fascicule 1)

Book:

  Reminiscences and Critical appreciations of Nanteuil

 
  Fascicule 1: 10 drawings & 10 corresponding lithographs, reproduced on 10 centre-folded prints.

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Fascicule 2: 12 drawings & 12 corresponding lithographs, reproduced on 12 centre-folded prints.

Compare the Chaïkin impression of the print Gargantua, above (which he was seeking in Letter #2 of his correspondence in this archive) to the much more deteriorated copy in the Revenant Archive, below:

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Fascicule 3: 12 drawings & 12 corresponding lithographs, reproduced on 12 centre-folded prints.

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Fascicule 4: 13 drawings & 12 corresponding lithographs, reproduced on 13 centre-folded prints.

Fascicule 5: 12 drawings & 12 corresponding lithographs, reproduced on 12 centre-folded prints.

Fascicule 6: 22 drawings & 22 corresponding lithographs, reproduced on 22 centre-folded prints.