EUGENE GRASSET LE MOIS. Calendar with 12 sheets.

Each sheet 12 1/2x9 1/2 inches. Imprimeur Editeur, Paris.
Condition A. Paper. In original paper folio cover.
In the early 1890s Grasset began experimenting with a new form of printing, Chromotypography, an early form of photolithography, which was invented by one of his friends, Firmin Gillot. This calendar was printed in "Gillotage," from wood engravings. Both Arwas and Murray Robertson date this calendar to 1896, but it was offered in the May 15, 1894 issue of La Plume, (which was dedicated to Grasset's work) thus making the calendar two years older than previously thought. La Plume offered the calendar for sale on vellum (like this copy) at 5 francs and quoted it as "extremely rare." The images are perfect examples of Grasset's style, mixing symbolist women with the flowers of gardens that change with the seasons. Grasset spent nearly 20 years of his career working for La Belle Jardinier, the Parisian department store. In 1899 he designed a second calendar for them (which La Plume offered for sale for 2.5 francs), and then again in 1904. Murrary Robertson also reproduces two projects for unrealized calendars in 1914 and 1915. (p. 100). Arwas p. 26-28, Murray Robertson p. 123.