The foundations of the Society were rudely shaken during the fierce storm which ravaged the entire french book-trade in 1922. Le Livre which had hitherto occupied luxurious premises in the smartest district of Paris was obliged to take refuge in a quieter and more remote street. Here the members worked wisely and without haste. Even in the noise and bustle of the » quartier Saint-Augustin » one seemed to feel the indefinable peace and quiet of an old Benedictine Library. Émile Chamontin, the director of Le Livre, is the personnification of courtesy and indeed this is an essential quality for a publisher of » ouvrages de luxe « . Among some of those most interesting publications, we may mention Alcindor, by Boylesve (a sequel to the world-known Leçon d’Amour), which inspired Pierre Brissaud’s charming water-colours, full of sunshine and shadow where lovely women muse and dream, the clear valley of the Loire at their feet. This same artist has illustrated with great feeling and delicacy L’Enfant à la Balustrade and recalls to our minds the fair country-side of Touraine. Clément Serveau has given us simple but harmonious wood enavigrngs to illustrate an austere and noble tale by Louis Bertrand, entitled : La Femme qui était retournée en Afrique. Schneid has embellished with multicoloured engravings an extremely successful edition of Saliimniô. At about the same period, Siméon illustrated Les Désirs de f ean Servière and Maximilien Vox executed with much feeling some quaint charming engravings for Lucien Leuwen by Stendhal. In this same series, were published Abel Hermant’s immortal work Entretiens sur la Grammaire française and Julien Benda’s, Lettres à Melisandre, which shelter a profound philosophy. Le Retour d’Amazan is far more than a treatise : it is a delightful ramble through the fields of literature where André Therive has culled the choicest flowers. In Les Livres du Second Rayon, Émile Henriot recalls to our minds cong-forgotten writers and gives us a glimpse of the licentious authors. Later, abbé Bremond will treat of literature Pierre Lasserre of music, Jacques Boulanger of French history and Paul Valéry of the flowing and mysterious art of verse. At first, all these books are published in a de grand luxe edition with ornaments and engravings, being followed a few weeks later by a popular current edition. The clever business management of Le Livre combined the sale of a restricted edition with that of a widely spread one, and could thus ofter from time to time true master pieces, to the ut most satisfaction of all book-lovérs. I will mention three of these : Le Génie latin, illustrated by Carlègle L’Oiseau bleu, containing light, quaint and whimsical water-colours by Georges Lepape, and more especially Henri de Regnier’s, Scènes mythologiques, adorned with exquisite eaux-fortes by A.-E. Marty. Oh I fortunate publishers who advance with a firm tread along the path of success… MUSIC As announced to us by the luminous sign La Musique vivante, Mr. Vallas inaugurated last october his weekly reunions where now assemble many musicians both professional and amateur. Here they discuss with passion about the causes and features of Strawinski’s evolution, on the need of relegating to the chamber of Horrors Berlioz’s deplo-rable Absence the name of which is by itself an implicit avorval, or La Prière d’une Vierge which, a few years ago, came to an unfortunate end at the Lune rousse owing to Carpentier’s Method. Mr. Vallas revealed to many that they were orators and aesthetes, a fact they had hithertho ignored. I do not say musicians, which would be far less inoffensing ; therefore music owes nothing but thanks to Mr. Vallas. Mr. Boschot, a journalist and eminent historiographer of Berlioz often deplores the present indifference concerning matters of aesthetic controversy. Mr. Bos-chot whose life was chiefly devoted to romanticismis, I think, under the influence of the mirage of the past. Assuredly, neither the enthusiasm nor the indignation, nor the wrath of these loyers of music are dead. I can vouch for the commotion and tumultuous manifestations which greeted L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, by Mme Colette et Maurice Ravel, in the hitherto peaceful and wedding-propitious atmosphère of the Opéra-Comique. I cannot now allow myself to be drawn into a lengtny discussion on the expediency of Colette’s collaboration with Maurice Ravel, on the affinities of her ardor with his cold brilliancy. Let me recall to you that Mr. Boschot has devoted to L’Enfant et les Sortilèges a judicious and sympathetic study in L’Avenir and Mr. Roland Manuel who knows Ravel intimately has tried with unusual delicacy of analysis in the Revue musicale and in the Revue Pleyel to throw some light on the subject. 10 imuumummummumm muutuumminimin Immo ri illionnimiiiimminimunimminuœmumunim • ..,.., _.7 (,…..? », ie ),, »;,,;,/-i- j)e‘— »…-1-; /4, -;,–•,–; …….,„:= – b e . g el • — L _ _ . , La NEIGE des CÉVENNES est la Crème préférée des Parisiennes. Elle donne un teint idéal sous tous les climats, rend la peau fraîche et saine, souple et transparente. EN VENTE PARTOUT Gros : Parfumerie Neige des Cévennes, l2, rue Calmels. PARIS ( XVIII’) 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111MI1111111111111111111111111111111111 55 5.
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