Verve - Issues 1-4 in original binder - c1937

This is a rare chance to own the complete first four issues of Verve, complete with the original Verve binder. Verve was an artistic and literary quarterly first published in Paris in December 1937. The books measure 14 x 10.8 inches and are in very good condition for their age, with the expected minor foxing and handling wear. The lithographs are in excellent condition. The four volumes come in an original binder, which has 'Verve' on the spine. Please note that the set is heavy, hence relatively high postage price. Please note that the photos only cover a sample of the many lithographs and prints.

Issue 1 (128 pages)
Includes:
Original lithographs by - Fernand Leger, Joan Miro, Abraham Rattner, Francisco Bores

Photography, prints, drawings and heliogravures (by Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Andre Derain and more), essays, letters.

Issue 2 (124 pages)
Includes:
Original lithographs by - Wassily Kandinsky x 2, Andre Masson x 2 (plus 11 other lithographs, not by major artists).

Photography, prints, drawings and heliogravures (by Vincent Van Gogh, Georges Braque, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and more), essays, letters and more.

Issue 3 (128 pages)
Includes:
Original lithographs by - Marc Chagall, Joan Miro, Paul Klee, Abraham Rattner. Plus lithographs of ancient Indian art.

Photography, prints, drawings and heliogravures (by Vincent Van Gogh, Georges Braque, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse and more), essays, letters and more.

Issue 4 (140 pages)
Includes:
Original lithographs by - Henri Matisse x 3, Andre Derain. (plus 12 other lithographs, not by major artists).

Photography, prints, drawings and heliogravures (by Andre Masson, Edgar Degas, Brassai, Joan Miro, Henri Matisse, Tolouse-Lautrec and more), essays, letters and more.

This beautiful set comes from the private collection of Stephen Baring. The collection comprises two inherited collections plus twenty five years of personal collecting.

Lithography
A lithograph is not just a cheap mass produced print. The process dates from 1796 and is far more complicated and therefore valuable. Lithography is a method for printing using a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface. Invented in 1796 by German author and actor Alois Senefelder as a method of publishing theatrical works, lithography can be used to print text or artwork onto paper or other suitable material.

Lithography hinges on the principle that oil and water cannot mix; based on this principle, an oil-based variety of ink is applied directly to the drawing, and the ink immediately bonds with the equally greasy crayon lines. Water is then wiped onto the unpainted areas to prevent the ink from straying. A sheet of paper is then placed over the entire plate; the inked plate and the paper areplaced in a press and light pressure is used to transfer some of the ink to produce the artwork. The time-consuming nature of this process, added to the dexterity required to produce the drawing, explains the significant value, both aesthetic and monetary, of lithographic prints.

Lithography originally used an image drawn (etched) into a coating of wax or an oily substance applied to a plate of lithographic stone as the medium to transfer ink to a blank paper sheet, and so produce a printed page. In modern lithography, the image is made of a polymer coating applied to a flexible aluminium plate. To print an image lithographically, the flat surface of the stone plate is roughened slightly etched and divided into hydrophilic regions that accept a film of water, and thereby repel the greasy ink; and hydrophobic regions that repel water and accept ink because the surface tension is greater on the greasy image area, which remains dry. The image can be printed directly from the plate (the orientation of the image is reversed), or it can be offset, by transferring the image onto a flexible sheet (rubber) for printing and publication.

A beautiful and valuable set that will provide an excellent financial investment as well as a possession to enjoy. You are welcome to return for a full refund if you are not entirely happy. Also, please feel free to view at our central London showroom.