Antique French set of 2 books — Alfred de Vigny "Poésies" & Prosper Mérimée "Chronique du Règne de Charles IX" [French]

Two French classics in buttery yellow cloth, made to sit side by side. The covers are printed in teal and soft lavender with a wreath, ribbons, and a bow, a sweet Art Nouveau design that the Nelson publishing house used on its well-loved French series. The spines carry a matching "N" medallion.

Each book opens to a color picture. Vigny's Poésies shows a woman in a white gown playing a mandolin in a rose garden, framed in a ribboned wreath. Mérimée's Chronique du Règne de Charles IX shows a lady in gold silk and a young man kneeling at her chair. Mérimée's novel is a love story set during the Wars of Religion in 1500s France; Vigny's poems include "La Dryade" and "Paris."

A past reader left light pencil notes in the margins, in French, like a student studying the texts. A pretty pair for a reader, a Francophile, or a sunny little book stack.

Dimensions: 6 1/2" H x 4 1/2" W (per volume)

Medium: Yellow cloth over boards, printed in teal and lavender

Age: 1931

Origin: Paris, France — Nelson, Éditeurs, 25 rue Denfert-Rochereau (Mérimée co-published with Calmann-Lévy, Éditeurs, 3 rue Auber)

Signature/mark: None visible

Disclosures: Sold as-is in vintage condition, nearly 100 years old; sold as a pair of 2 books; both books have light pencil notes and marks in the margins (in French); small spots on the covers; spines and pages are lightly toned