'Les Artistes du Livre'. Henry Babou. Volume 10 of the collection “Les Artistes du Livre” dedicated to George Barbier (Nantes, 1882 – Paris, 1932) Copy numbered 102 of 700. With a critical study by Jean-Louis Vaudoyer, the preface is a letter in verse by Henri de Régnier. Portrait by Charles Martin. Produced on Vélin blanc des papeteries johannot paper. 27 x 21 cm.   The volume includes the following plates of illustrations: Frontispiece of La double maîtresse, Le roman de la momie, Chansons de Bilitis, Proserpine, Le matin (Falbalas et Fanfreluches), Le carosse aux deux lézards verts, Poèmes en prose, Vies imaginaires.   Between 1928 and 1933, the publisher Henry Babou published an important series of monographic works entitled ‘Les artistes du livre’, a collection of volumes that provides valuable documentation on various illustrators of the early 20th century, such as Carlège, Jean-Emile Laboureur, Hermann Paul, Sylvain Sauvage and Perrichon, among many others.  Each volume in this collection is dedicated to a specific artist and their illustrative work. It contains a critical study and bibliography of the artist's work, accompanied by a portrait, either by the artist themselves or by one of their contemporaries, and various reproductions of their most emblematic illustrations, both in black and white as well as in colour.   Doctor of Comparative Literature and Cultural History from the Universities of Strasbourg and Lausanne, Marie-Charlotte Quin is the author of a very interesting article on this collection, published in volume 18, ‘Littérarisation des patrimoines,’ of the literary magazine RELIEF. In the initial summary of this article, which we recommend reading, Quin notes the following: 'The “Les artistes du livre” collection is a contemporary initiative aimed at preserving a specific artistic heritage, that of illustration, at a time marked by great enthusiasm for illustrated books. Henry Babou, editor of the collection, adopts an approach that has the particularity of reviving the codes of the object that contribute to sanctifying the luxury book. Furthermore, the commitment of the authors, the first beneficiaries of the effects of illustration in their works, helps to legitimise the practice and elevate it to the status of art. In the ‘preface letters’, they outline both the contours of an underlying trend, the specific characteristics of the practice and the artistic singularities of the illustrator to whom they are addressed'.   Georges Barbier was a French painter, fashion designer and illustrator. Throughout his career, which began with studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he worked for satirical magazines (Le Rire, La Baïonnette) and fashion magazines (Vogue France, Fémina, Modes et manière d'aujourd'hui), as well as on numerous books and advertising catalogues. In fact, he exhibited at both the Salon des Humoristes in 1910 and the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs from 1912 onwards. He also established working relationships with the world of the performing arts, creating sets and costumes for the popular music halls of the time, theatre and cinema.   Reference bibliography: - Quin, Marie-Charlotte. (2024). La collection ‘Les artistes du livre’ de l'éditeur Henry Babou (1928-1933). ‘RELIEF - REVUE ÉLECTRONIQUE DE LITTÉRATURE FRANÇAISE’, 18(2), 19-38. https://doi.org/10.51777/relief21155