L'Image: Revue Litteraire et Artistique, ornee de Figures sur bois. Numéro spécimen. (BOTH SPECIMEN ISSUES)

BOTH OF THE RARE "NUMÉROS SPÉCIMEN", IN PRISTINE CONDITION, of this important bibliophile periodical designed to celebrate wood engraving. ***** The first "numéro spécimen" was published in 1896 to encourage people to subscribe to "L'I'mage". 8 pp + 5 hors-texte plates. It features wood-engraved illustrations after Lepère, Willette, De Feure (in color), Merson, Steinlen, Chéret, and others, and A FULL-PAGE HORS-TEXTE WOOD ENGRAVING BY LEPERE ("La prière", Lotz-Brissonneau 254) PRINTED ON EXTREMELY FINE ARCHES LAID PAPER. ***** The second "numéro spécimen" was published in 1904 and advertises the revival of the publication, which never took place. 8 pp. + 5 loosely-inserted hors-texte plates, each with an original wood engraving: Dété after Cottet, Ruffe after Degas, Labat after De Feure, Maylander after Vierge, and Perrichon after Rodin. Both issues printed on five wove paper. Large 4to. Bound in publisher's gorgeous color-printed wraps, the second adorned with a color wood engraving by Vibert after Bellery-Desfonatines. THESE SPECIMEN ISSUES--ESPECIALLY THE FIRST--ARE VERY RARE, FAR MORE SO THAN THE 12 REGULARLY-PUBLISHED ISSUES.