Cretté (Georges, binder).- Louÿs (Pierre) Les Aventures du Roi Pausole, 2 vol., number 34 of 99 copies on Arches with 2 sets of plates (one set with remarques and one set of 15 unused plates), this copy also with 2 original pen & ink drawings mounted and bound in, one signed by the artist, 74 dry-point plates and illustrations by Marcel Vertès, bookplate of Col. Harry Vinckenbosch, magnificently bound in blue goatskin, gilt, by Georges Cretté, tooled with all-over geometric lotus design formed by sweeping parallel lines in gilt and extending across spine, spine with title and crown in silver, tan suede doublures and linings, original wrappers bound in, additional suites bound in blue goatskin, spine with title and crown in gilt, g.e., both signed at foot of front turn-in, g.e., with half blue goatskin chemises (spines very slightly faded) and board slip-cases (a little rubbed at edges), 4to (binding c.330 x 270mm.), Paris, 1930.

⁂ A stunning binding by one of the most skilled French bookbinders of the 20th century.

"Georges Cretté (1893–1969) studied at the Ecole Étienne in Paris and served until 1925 as lead finisher for Henri Marius-Michel (1846–1925), who was widely considered the founder of modern French bookbinding. Cretté, who signed his bindings “G. Cretté successeur de Marius Michel,” gradually abandoned the floral Art Nouveau aesthetic in favor of crisp geometric Art Deco designs that often incorporated inlays of metal, ivory, enamel, or exotic skins. One of the hallmarks of his style was his faultless use of gold fillets, which earned him the nickname 'maître des filets'." (Britwell Library Special Collections).