A lovely album preserving ten delicate and meticulously prepared cut paper flower arrangements. The album is inscribed on the front fly leaf "Souvenir à Mlle. Heloise Bigaud / Hector de D. Juin 1848" and was almost certainly specially prepared as a gift of friendship (or courtship). The front cover displays the gilt initials "H. B." in gothic letters framed within a decorative gilt border. The flowers themselves are cut from various multi-colored papers. The minute detail and perfect composition of several of these flower "collages" make these exceptional examples of this largely domestic artistic genre requiring much skill and keen observation of nature.

Edition limited to 500 copies. A study of the important school of French flower painters centered in Lyon in the 19th century, their connections to the textile industry, and the progress of the École des Beaux Arts at Lyon. The bulk of the text consists of an alphabetical annotated catalogue of flower painters, including available biographical and professional details. Illustrated with a color frontispiece reproducing a painting by Francois Lepage and 51 black and white reproductions of paintings by other members of the school. 4to (28.5 x 21 cm); 88 pp. + mounted color frontispiece + 51 black and white plates.