With a beautiful hand-coloured Arabic miniature on parchment

Heine, Maurice. L'Islam sous la cendre.

€ 8,500.00

One of six copies (numbered 4) of a sumptuous publication of poems on Islam by the French poet, writer and publisher Maurice Heine (1884-1940). The entire edition consists of 77 copies, of which only the first six (numbered 1-6) were printed on dyed Japanese paper and included the frontispiece in three states, of which one painted and highlighted with gold on parchment. The frontispiece, an Arabic text surrounded by flowers, was designed and drawn by the Algerian miniature painter Mohammed Racim (1896-1975), founder of the Algerian school of miniature painting that still exists. The included poems are: La demeure harmonieuse; Dans la maison moresque; Palais d'Islam; Le voyage en faience; Le cyprès; Alger-aux-barbares; and La mort d'Alger. The work opens with a half-title printed in blue, followed by a blank leaf, a leaf with the privilege, another half-title, three frontispieces, the title-page, and a dedication, followed by the prologue and the seven poems. It closes with a colophon, mentioning the different copies of the book. Below the colophon is the print number: "Exemplaire no. 4. Imprimé pour le docteur Pierre Astruc".

With a presentation inscription to Pierre Astruc: "à Pierre Astruc, avec toute l'affection de ton ami dévoué, Maurice Heine". In very good condition.