These days I find myself wanting to visit la Librairie de lart indépendant, founded by the composer and occultist Edmond Bailly. It operated between 1890 and 1895. Bailly published all the Symbolist authors: Mallarmé, André Gide, Paul Claudel, Henry de Régnier, Pierre Louÿs... even Oscar Wilde. Some of these books included collaborations with musicians like Debussy or Erik Satie. It is said that most of these artists used to meet at this bookshop at the end of the day. Bailly mixed his poetry with occultism, publishing a few theosophical texts and, more importably to us, Les XXII lames hermétiques du tarot divinatoire, by R. R. Falconnier. The frontispiece of Falconniers book shows the sphinx designed by Felicien Rops, the bookshops logo. Under the sphinx we have the motto: Non hoc piscis omnium (not everyones fish is here/not everyone fishes here). Indeed!
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 13:12:12 +0000
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