Acquisition: Purchase, 1982 (R9470)
Access: A minimum of twenty-four hours is required to pull art materials to the Reading Room.
Processed by: Helen Young, 2006
RLIN Record ID: None
In 1908 Legrain joined the studio of the designer Paul Iribe (1883-1935), with whom he collaborated in 1912 on the apartment of the celebrated fashion designer and art patron Jacques Doucet. In 1916 Doucet proposed that Legrain, who had no experience as a book binder, provide designs for bindings for Doucet's collection of books and manuscripts. Legrain set up in Doucet's dining room and between 1917 and 1919 designed around 370 bindings, most of which were executed by René Kieffer, but also by Canape, Noulhac, and Germaine Schroeder. After the completion of these bindings, Legrain continued to provide Doucet with designs for furniture and other objects.
Legrain exhibited his bindings at the Société des Artistes Décorateurs in 1919. In 1922 his work started to attract much attention when articles about his bindings appeared in magazines, subsequently increasing demand for his bindings. He was thus able to establish his own studio, and no longer had to send his designs out to the bookbinders' establishments. He could also now choose among his clients and books, and he had commissions from the leading collectors of modern books.
Most of Legrain's best work was created between 1925 and his death in 1929. He had developed a complete understanding of binding technique, and he came to prefer to work with bindings, although there was still great demand for his decorating work. His binding designs moved away from geometric styles to more complicated and often asymmetrical compositions; a wide range of materials were used in his bindings. Legrain's bindings exhibited at the Exposition internationale des arts de�coratifs et industriels modernes of 1925 sealed his reputation as the leading designer of French bindings.
Legrain died in Paris on July 17, 1929.
Corbin, Donna. "Legrain, Pierre(-Emile)." Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, 2006, http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 6 November 2006).
Ray, Gordon N. "The Art Deco Book in France." Studies in Bibliography 55 (2002): 20-131. Project Muse. John Hopkins University Press, http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/studies_in_bibliography/v055/55.1ray02.html (accessed 6 November 2006).
The designs are numbered consecutively within the albums, and appear in the following Item List in that order. For those designs with corresponding bindings identified in Pierre Legrain, relieur (1965), the citation numbers are included.
The Ransom Center's Library has seventeen books in original bindings by Legrain; the designs for three of these books (Pierre Legrain, relieur numbers 4, 416, and 618) are included in the Art Collection's Legrain volumes.
| Number | Book | Date | Pierre Legrain relieur no. |
| 1.-2. | Suarès, André. Amour, 1916. | 1918-19 | 916 |
| 3. | Renard, Jules. Histoires Naturelles, 1849. | 1928 | 860 |
| 4. | Dorgelès, Roland. Le Cabaret de la Belle Femme, 1924. | 1924-25 | 238 |
| 5. | Dorgelès, Roland. Les Croix de Bois, 1925. | 1926 | 262 |
| 6. | Boylesve, René. La Leçon d'Amour dans un Parc, 1925. | 1929 | 100 |
| 7. | Larrouy, Maurice. L'Odyssée d'un Transport Torpille, n.d. | 1926 | 560 |
| 8. | Gogol?, Nikol?i Vasil?evich. Journal d'un Fou, 1927. | 192- | 416 |
| 9. | Louÿs, Pierre. Les Chansons de Bilitis, 1922. | 192- | 610 |
| 10. | Louÿs, Pierre. Les Chansons de Bilitis, 1922. | 192- | not listed |
| 11. | Lacordaire, Henri-Dominique. Vie de St. Dominique, 1919. | 1928 | 530 |
| 12. | Régnier, Henri de. La de Jaspe, 1924. | 1926 | 812 |
| 13. | Louÿs, Pierre. Les Aventures du Roi Pausole, 1924. | 192- | 608 |
| 14. | Longus. Daphnis & Chloé, 1902. | 1926 | 585 |
| 15. | Unidentified work | ||
| 16.-17. | Galtier-Boissière, Jean. La Bonne Vie, 1925. | 1928 | 347 |
| 18. | Mirbeau, Octave. Dingo, 1913. | 192-? | 694 |
| 19. | Vaudoyer, Jean-Louis. Rayons Croisés, 1921. | 1922 | 1088 |
| 20. | Jammes, Francis. Une Vierge, 1919. | 1922-24 | 511 |
| 21. | Gide, André. Poesies d'André Walter, 1892. | 1925 | 378 |
| 22. | Suarès, André. Les Bourdons sont en Fleur, 1917. | 1922-24 | 921 |
| 23. | Bazin, Ren�. [Nine-volume set], n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 24. | France, Anatole. Les Contes de Jacques Tournebroche, 1924. | 192- | 320 |
| 25. | Anderson, Sherwood. L'Homme qui devint Femme, n.d. | 1926 | 4 |
| 26. | Unidentified work | ||
| 27. | Vigny, Alfred de. Daphné, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 28. | Claudel, Paul. Verlaine , n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 29. | Miró, Gabriel. Semaine Sainte, n.d. | 1926 | 701 |
| 30. | Valéry, Paul. Situation de Baudelaire, n.d. | 1925 | 1076 |
| 31. | France, Anatole. La Rotisserie de la Reine Pedauque, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 32. | Gide, André. L'Immoraliste, n.d. | 192-? | 364 |
| 33. | Rostand, Edmond. La Dernière Nuit de Don Juan, n.d. | 1922-24 | 883 |
| 34. | France, Anatole. Abeille, n.d. | 1925 | 317 |
| 35. | Maeterlinck, Maurice. La Vie des Abeilles, n.d. | 192-? | 650 |
| 36. | Boylesve, René. Alcindor, 1920. | 1922-24 | 97 |
| 37. | Wilde, Oscar. Poetical Works, 1908. | 1922-24 | 1232 |
| 38. | Rambosson, Ivanhoé. La Peinture Anglaise, n.d. | 192-? | 800 |
| 39. | Valéry, Paul. Variété, 1924. | 1925 | 1082 |
| 40.-41. | Leconte de Lisle, Charles. Les Erinnyes, 1912. | 192-? | 573 |
| 42. | Balzac, Honoré. La Fille aux Yeux d'Or, 1923. | 1926 | 34 |
| 43. | Gide, André. Le Voyage d'Urien, 1893. | 192-? | 393 |
| 44. | Wilde, Oscar. La Ballade de la Geôle de Reading, 1918. | 1925-26 | 1217 |
| 45. | Cocteau, Jean. Plain Chant, 1922. | 1928 | 181 |
| 46. | Descartes, René. Discours de la Méthode, 1925. | 1927 | 213 |
| 47. | Bernard, Tristan. Tableau de la Boxe, 1922. | 1925 | 85 |
| 48. | Bernard, Tristan. Tableau de la Boxe, 1922. | 192- | 84 |
| 49. | Bernard, Tristan. Tableau de la Boxe, Suite des Gravures, 1922. | 192- | not listed |
| 50. | Longus. Daphnis et Chloé, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 51. | Vigny, Alfred de. Daphné, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 52. | Baudelaire, Charles. Fleurs du Mal, 1900. | 192-? | 52 |
| 53. | Mardrus, Jacques-Charles. Sucre d'Amour, 1927. | 192- | 659 |
| 54. | Unidentified work | ||
| 55. | Unidentified work | ||
| 56.-57. | Bartlett, H.-C. Typographic Treasure in Europe, n.d. | 1928 | 49 |
| 58. | Bernard, Tristan. Tableau de la Boxe, 1922. | 192- | not listed |
| 59. | Régnier, Henri. La Canne de Jaspe, 1924. | 192- | 813 |
| 60. | Mardrus, Jacques-Charles. La Reine de Saba, 1922. | 1926 | 666 |
| 61. | Duhamel, Georges. Confession de Minuit, 1920. | 1927 | 276 |
| 62. | Valéry, Paul. Lettre à un Ami, 1925. | 192- | not listed |
| 63. | Unidentified work | ||
| 64. | Valéry, Paul. La Jeune Parque, 1927. | 1927 | 1050 |
| 65. | Valéry, Paul. Le Serpent , n.d. | 1928 | 1075 |
| 66. | Maurois, André. Les Silences du Colonel Bramble, 1926. | 192- | 681 |
| 67. | Louÿs, Pierre. Les Chansons de Bilitis, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 68. | Valéry, Paul. Eupalinos ou l'Architecte, 1923. | 1927 | 1043 |
| 69. | Valéry, Paul. Eupalinos ou l'Architecte, 1923. | 192- | not listed |
| 70. | Valéry, Paul. Rhumbs, n.d. | 1927 | 1074 |
| 71. | Huysmans, Joris-Karl. A Rebous, 1903. | 192-? | 464 |
| 72. | Unidentified work | ||
| 73. | Wilde, Oscar. La Ballade de la Geôle de Reading, 1918. | 192- | not listed |
| 74. | Valéry, Paul. Variété, 1924. | 1925 | 1081 |
| 75. | Unidentified work | ||
| 76. | Ovid. L'Art d'Aimer, n.d. | 192-? | 1081 |
| 77. | Loti, Pierre. Aphrodite, n.d. | 1925 | 595 |
| 78. | Morand, Paul. Rien que la Terre, 1926. | 1929 | 720 |
| 79. | Toulet, Paul-Jean. Trois Impostures, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 80. | Unidentified work | ||
| 81. | Unidentified work | ||
| 82. | Unidentified work | ||
| 83. | Bernard, Tristan. Tableau de la Boxe, 1922. | 192- | 79 |
| 84. | Dorgelès, Roland. Les Croix de Bois, 1919. | 192- | not listed |
| 85. | Voltaire. L'Ingénu, 1927. | 1929 | 1210 |
| 86. | Perrault, Charles. Contes, 1922. | 1927 | 758 |
| Number | Book | Date | Pierre Legrain relieur no. |
| 1. | Unidentified work | ||
| 2. | Boylesve, René. Sainte-Marie des Fleurs, n.d. | 1922-24 | 104 |
| 3. | Colette. Le Voyage Égoïste, 1922. | 192- | not listed |
| 4. | Wilde, Oscar. La Ballade de la Geôle de Reading, 1918. | 192- | 1214 |
| 5. | Wilde, Oscar. La Ballade de la Geôle de Reading, 1918. | 1928 | 1223 |
| 6. | Suarès, André. Le Livre d'Émeraude, 1914. | 1926 | 939 |
| 7. | Unidentified work | ||
| 8. | Cocteau, Jean. Escales, 1920. | 1920 | 179 |
| 9. | Dorgelès, Roland. Les Croix de Bois, 1925. | 192- | 259 |
| 10. | Unidentified work | ||
| 11. | Louÿs, Pierre. Quatorze Images, 1925. | 192- | 618 |
| 12. | Musset, Alfred de. On ne Badine pas avec l'Amour, n.d. | 1922-24 | 726 |
| 13. | France, Anatole. Histoire Comique, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 14. | Unidentified work | ||
| 15. | Mirbeau, Octave. Le Jardin des Supplices, 1902. | 192-? | 697 |
| 16. | Régnier, Henri. Les Vacances d'un Jeune Homme Sage, 1903. | 1922-24 | 853 |
| 17. | Mirbeau, Octave. Le Journal d'une Femme de Chambre, 1900. | 1922-24 | 698 |
| 18. | Motherland, Henri de. Chant Funèbre pour les Morts de Verdun, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 19. | Gide, André. Le Voyage d'Urien, 1893. | 1919 | 396 |
| 20. | Chansons des Geishas, n.d. | 1929 | 138 |
| 21. | Rostand, Edmond. La Princesse Lointaine, 1920. | 1924 | 885 |
| 22. | Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Jacques-Henri. Paul et Virginie, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 23. | Louÿs, Pierre. Quatorze Images, 1925. | 1927 | 620 |
| 24. | Samain, Albert Victor. Au Jardin de l'Infante, 1893. | 1925-26 | 896 |
| 25. | France, Anatole. Les Dieux ont Soif, 1925. | 1926 | 324 |
| 26. | Toussaint, Franz. Le Jardin des Caresses, 1914. | 192-? | 1007 |
| 27. | Chateaubriant, Alphonse de. Monsieur des Lourdines, 1921. | 1922-24 | 142 |
| 28. | MacOrlan, Pierre. Marguerite de la Nuit, n.d. | 1925 | 628 |
| 29. | Tharaud, Jérôme et Jean. La Maitresse Servante, 1912. | 1926 | 973 |
| 30. | Virgil. Les Églogues, 1926. | 192- | 1105 |
| 31. | Unidentified work | ||
| 32. | Samain, Albert Victor. Contes, 1926. | 1929 | 904 |
| 33. | Unidentified work | ||
| 34. | Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Faust, 1924. | 1928 | 415 |
| 35. | Wilde, Oscar. La Ballade de la Geôle de Reading, 1918. | 1928 | 1223(?) |
| 36. | Malherbe, Henry. Le Jugement Dernier, 1920? | 192- | not listed |
| 37. | Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Faust, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 38. | Dorgelès, Dorgel�s, Roland. Le Cabaret de la Belle Femme, 1924. | 192- | 233 |
| 39. | Unidentified work | ||
| 40. | Valéry, Paul. La Jeune Parque, 1925. | 1928 | 1055 |
| 41. | Maurois, André. Les Silences du Colonel Bramble, 1926. | 1928 | 678 |
| 42. | Valéry, Paul. La Jeune Parque, 1925. | 1927 | 1053 |
| 43. | Baudelaire, Charles. Les Fleurs du Mal, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 44. | Machiavelli, Niccolo. Le Prince, 1921. | 1922-24 | 623 |
| 45. | Unidentified work | ||
| 46. | Valéry, Paul. Eupalinos ou l'Architecte, 1923. | 1924 | 1041 |
| 47. | Unidentified work | ||
| 48. | Chamisso, Aldebert de. L'Homme qui a Perdu son Ombre, 1913. | 1921 | 136 |
| 49. | Unidentified work | ||
| 50. | Carco, Francis. Tableau de l'Amour Venal, 1924. | 192- | not listed |
| 51. | Le Cantique des Cantiques, 1925. | 1928 | 114 |
| 52. | Le Cantique des Cantiques, 1925. | 1928 | 115 |
| 53. | Lacordaire, Henri-Dominique. Vie de St. Dominique, 1919. | 192-? | not listed |
| 54. | Shakespeare, William. Romeo et Juliette, n.d. | 1927 | 907 |
| 55. | Dorgelès, Roland. Les Croix de Bois, 1925. | 192- | not listed |
| 56. | Mardrus, Jacques-Charles. Histoire Charmante l'Adolescente Sucre d'Amour, 1927. | 192- | 661(?) |
| 57. | Toulet, Paul-Jean. Les Contres-Rimes, 1930[sic]. | 1928 | 1003 |
| 58. | MacOrlan, Pierre. Le Chant de l'Equipage, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 59. | France, Anatole. Abeille, n.d. | 1925 | 317 |
| 60. | Renard, Jules. Histoires Naturelles, 1899. | 1922-24 | 859 |
| 61. | Balzac, Honoré de. Le Curé de Tours, 1923. | 192- | 31 |
| 62. | Longus. Daphnis et Chloé, 1925. | 1927 | 590 |
| 63. | Jacob, Max. La Défense de Tartuffe, 1919. | 1928 | 484 |
| 64. | Valéry, Paul. Charmes ou Poèmes, 1922. | 192- | not listed |
| 65. | Dorgelès, Roland. Les Croix de Bois, 1925. | 192- | not listed |
| 66. | Kipling, Rudyard. La Plus Belle Histoire du Monde, 1920. | 192- | not listed |
| 67. | Dorgelès, Roland. Les Croix de Bois, 1925. | 1929 | 266 |
| 68. | Valéry, Paul. Eupalinos ou l'Architecte, manuscript. | 192- | 1040 |
| 69. | Noailles, Anna, comtesse de. Les Climats, 1924. | 1925 | 736 |
| 70. | Diogenes Laertius. Vies de Diogène et d'Aristippe, 1926. | 192- | not listed |
| 71. | Suarès, André. Verlaine, manuscript. | 1917-19 | 953 |
| 72. | Unidentified work | ||
| 73. | Pesquidoux, Joseph de. Travaux et Jeux Rustiques, 1925. | 192- | 762 |
| 74. | Verhaeren, Émile. Les Villes Tentaculaires, 1919. | 192-? | 1093 |
| 75. | Voltaire. L'Ingénu, n.d. | 192-? | not listed |
| 76. | Bernard, Tristan. Tableau de la Boxe, 1922. | 192- | not listed |
| 77. | Bernard, Tristan. Tableau de la Boxe, 1922. | 192- | not listed |
| 78. | Bernard, Tristan. Tableau de la Boxe, 1922. | 192- | not listed |
Reference queries to: reference@hrc.utexas.edu
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