MENDES Catulle. Hesperus. Illustrated in colour by Carlos Schwabe. Paris, Société de propagation des livres d'art, 1904; large in-8, beige and black bradel paper imitating the grain of morocco, smooth spine, black title page, cover. One of the most beautiful illustrated books of the Art-nouveau period, which many critics agree is Carlos Schwabe's masterpiece, emphasising "the balance and order of the images, the text composed in Garamond type, and the luminous stencilled cover" (Jacques Lévêque, L'Aube de l'impressionnisme 1848-1869, page 182). The illustration includes 33 compositions "reproduced in colour and carefully retouched with a brush", including a frontispiece and 12 full-page illustrations. One of 300 on esparto, printed in the name of the Sociétaire Georges Berger.