The Sad Tale of Bazouge

Boston: Museum of Fine Arts (Boston). Very Good+ with no dust jacket. 1961. Booklet. Light crease at the spine of the front cover. ; A humorous tale of a crow or raven who successively, page after page, drinks and drains numerous glasses of spirits until its view of the world blurs, it stands, then falls on its back. Told wordlessly, with drawings only, and the story line is obvious. The stylized head and beak of the bird reoccur in Steinlen's book illustrations of crows and vultures. Swiss-born, creative polymath Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen (1859-1923) was painter, fabric designer, sculptor, periodical publisher, printmaker, and illustrator. Renowned for his turn-of-the-century, Art Nouveau-style, Steinlen produced drawings of Parisian street life, depicting average working-class people, actors, vendors, prostitutes, the upper class out of their element, criminals, and families, all in the urban environment. He was equally known for his many drawings of cats in both natural and humorous situations, and for creating the iconic Chat Noir poster for the French cabaret of that name. In card stock wraps that are typically in various shades of yellow, this variation has sparkling mica flakes in the yellow card stock. Saddle stapled with bright staples holding well. The drawings are printed in black on mould made paper. Unpaginated, 16 pages. Illustrations from the book Tales for Sara, Paris, 1898. This little booklet was published by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1961 and is presumed to accompany an exhibition of Steinlen's works. In this booklet, his little crow caricature paints a morality tale with humor. Clean, tight, with sharp corners, and conservatively Very Good+, closer to Near Fine. ; Ink drawing; 32mo 4" - 5" tall; 16 pages .