The first illustrated volume of the prose selections, of the complete works of de Musset (1949), consists of the writer’s rebellion-flourish, Confession of a Child of the Century. Accordingly, the text has evoked from our graphic designer some blue-chip nudes and other demonstrations that to be new is to be outrageous.

We won’t argue here about the validity of such a gesture; but we will maintain that the visual output, for the sake of an era undergoing stresses far beyond Age of Enlightenment frivolity, can be well captured in its dignity by the narrative range of Brunelleschi’s designs.

The first vignette seems very tame by 21st century reckoning; but it covers (dubiously, perhaps) stairways to the stars while still rooted in instinctive poise.

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You will discover that, whereas with the first instalment (as to poetry) of our review of the Brunelleschi-illustrated full output of Alfred de Musset’s writings (1949), the key is of erotic fantasy, with the 3-volume theatre works the priority has shifted to a more mainstream motive.

Our first instance here of Brunelleschi’s remarkable range, as capturing subtle mood, takes us to a melancholy moment of the play, “A Caprice,” where the tone has, accordingly, undergone a rapid change.

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In 1995 we trained down from Paris to Versailles early one Sunday morning. There was a market of antiquities, but very few items for us. Almost in desperation about the slim pickings, we did notice and buy a 12-volume, stunning rendition of the complete poems, novels and plays of Alfred de Musset (1810-1857), illustrated, in pochoir style, by that deco dazzler, Umberto Brunelleschi (1879-1949), and published in 1949.  This was to be Brunelleschi’s swan song; and de Musset’s career steered a course straight to doom, as befits a Romantic-era notable. But this glowing paper product has much more than that to contribute.

The first episode will pertain to the three (of four—one being sold) poetry volumes, which, like the whole collection, takes as its watchword the title of one of his novels, namely, Confessions of a Child of the Century. Our strategy for presenting this treasure of vintage graphic design will be to note features of the “Confessions” as linked to a glowing pochoir. The opening vision ushers in a poetic dialogue touching upon a “Spanish Chestnut.”

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