Franz Melchers

I bought this beautiful book. But it is in bad shape. Nevertheless, it still is a very special book, It’s famous and it’s rare, though 1070 copies have been printed. The cover says it’s been printed in 1847. But that’s a mistake. It’s 1897. The book is called l’An (The Year) and contains poems by Thomas Braun and 16 colored woodblock landscapes by Franz Melchers.

The book is no longer a book, actually, it’s a collection of loose pages. But… a collection of ALL the pages. The edges are worn, have some tears and sometimes tiny holes (these plates have been pinned to a wall, I guess). But –important!- nowhere there’s a loss of text –or even more important- of the beautiful landscapes. (Only one illustration has a very small imperfection on the right corner above) Furthermore: the coloring still is fresh and radiant.

I wondered whether to restore the book and have it rebound. But I decided not to. I leave the book the way it is now. I had a box made, a beautifully made flat box with a photocopy of the cover of the book on the lid. Quite an expensive box, but I think it’s worth it. See for yourself.