Pan Annuaire du Luxe a Paris An. 1928 by Poiret, Paul - 1928

Paris: Devambrez, 1928. First Edition. Cloth. Fine. Folio, 32.5 by 27 cm. Unpaginated, title page on tissue, followed by 123 leaves of thin card, each, after the first four, with a full page advertisement for a particular high-end Parisian jeweler, couturier, boutique, cosmetics company, celebrated restaurants and other high end carriage trade businesses. 41 of these ads, by our count, have some degree of color, and we aren't counting a few for which the color is only red applied to letters or a geometric ornament. The ads are really more than that -- they are often stunning works of art, more often than not epitomizing the Art Deco style associated with the age. Human figures are highly stylized, often elongated as in vanity portraiture, facial features indistinct or omitted entirely, but the aura of elegance and attractiveness strongly suggested, attitudes of aloofness, confidence, or patronizing on display; the garments luxuriant and somehow vivid, even when rendered vaguely. The eminence grise behind this resplendent production was Paul Poiret, one of the most successful and celebrated designers of the day. The first card leaf, in fact, features a large black and white photo of the designer, wearing a lab or work jacket, gazing at an issue of Pan. The businesses included ones still around or well-remembered, such as Maxim's, Fouquets, Tour d'Argent, Galerie Lafayette, Au Printemps, Hermes, van Cleef and Arpels, etc. etc. Couturiers besides Poiret include Jeanne Lanvin and the Callot sisters. This was issued in what is remembered as the Jazz Age, and with that came the rage and fascination for "black culture" as epitomized by the break-out stardom of Josephine Baker, and we see that reflected in a number of the entries, with in more than one case an illustration that almost certainly was modeled after Baker herself. We also see the impact of cinema in a good number of images -- both literally, such as an audience in the dark, and in subtler forms. While we call particular attention to the Art Deco, the dominant sensibility for sure, there are ads that reach for a little bit of levity with humor or cuteness as well. A cat here, a caricature there. Many of the ads are signed, and among the contributors are names we know such as Sem, Jean Cocteau, Edy Legrand, Foujita, Raoul Dufy, etc. (This isn't counting the well-known then dead artists whose work was appropriated here and there, but rather, work that was surely done originally for this publication.) Condition: the slightest of rubbing or fading of a few of the characters (numerical and letter) on the front cover. A touch of long thin blisters on the spine. Light age toning around the edges of leaves. But it is clear that this was intended to be far more than an ephemeral compendium of the best designers and retailers, and obviously this copy was treated accordingly.