RENARD (Jules). Histoires naturelles. H. Floury, 1899. Large in-4, paperback, illustrated cover, ivory vellum folder, slipcase. First illustrated edition, decorated with 23 original black lithographs by Toulouse-Lautrec, including the cover. Edition of 100 copies. Jules Renard and Lautrec met in 1894, through the intermediary of Tristan Bernard. The writer's diary bears witness to their unique association: 9 December 1894, after a visit to the artist: He seems to me especially curious about art. I am not sure that what he does is good, but I know that he likes the rare, that he is an artist. This little man who calls his cane my little stick, who certainly suffers from his size, deserves, through his sensitivity, to be a man of talent. 5 March 1895 : Lautrec drew admirably. (However, the first edition of Histoires, comprising 45 texts, published in 1896, was adorned with 2 vignettes by Félix Vallotton). 19 September: Histoires naturelles. - Buffon described animals to please people. I would like to please the animals themselves. If they could read my little Histoires naturelles, I would like it to make them smile. 26 September: What spoils Grandville's animals for me is their costume. Air was enough. I tried to make do with air in my Histoires naturelles. Animals are not ridiculous. 26 December: Descaves wants to persuade me that I need fifty Histoires naturelles to make a volume. It's not just his opinion: it's that of his friends, etc. Lautrec offers to illustrate about eight of them and sell a hundred copies at 25 francs each. We'll share the profits. The painter worked on these 22 plates during the years 1896-1897. He drew his inspiration from the Jardin d'Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne and the Jardin des Plantes. However, we know that the illustrator and the author had different ideas about the design and illustration of the work, which delayed publication until 1899. Bibliophiles shunned it as soon as it appeared, and the book was even sold out before taking its rightful place in the pantheon of painters' books. First leaves slightly detached.