LA MARSEILLAISE. CHANT NATIONAL PAR ROUGET DE LISLE. TISSAGE DE LA MAISON CHATEL ET TASSINARI

Lyons, 1899. Lyon: Bernoux & Cumin (1899). Folio, original paper portfolio replaced with royal blue cloth portfolio with original printed cover label describing the work laid down and original tricolor ribbons replaced; contents immaculate. One of 300 copies of this exquisite rendering of the French national anthem by one of the great Art Nouveau illustrators, Eugène Grasset. Printed title and four pictorial panels in the original mats bordered in tri-color ribbon , each measuring 13 by 9 inches, woven in fine silk with a technique based on the punch-card system used by Jacquard and following principles developed by Charles Babbage for his experimental calculating machine. According to a copy of a 1970 letter, which is included, from the curator of the Textile Museum of Lyon, the work ("ce véritable chef- d'oeuvre de tissage lyonnais") is comparable to the most beautiful woven portraits of the 19th century. The first plate, the title panel, shows a fierce Marianne, personification of France, flying over a battlefield waving sword and helmet; the borders incorporate symbols of war's destruction. The second panel, with words and music woven into the fabric within a classical frame, includes a portrait of Rouget de Lisle, author of the anthem. The third and fourth panels give the remaining verses flanked by monumental figures of Victory, French soldiers and martial emblems in an architectural setting.. Board Portfolio.. Fine. Illus. by Grasset.. Folio.