Menukaart voor Les Cent bibliophiles - Eugène Delâtre

A 1919 etching by Eugène Delâtre depicting a quiet Parisian bookshop, created as a menu for the society Les Cent bibliophiles.

This etching by Eugène Delâtre serves as a menu for a dinner held by the society Les Cent bibliophiles on 23 December 1919. Delâtre, a skilled printmaker and son of the renowned printer Auguste Delâtre, captures a quiet, atmospheric scene of a Parisian bookshop. The composition focuses on the interior of a small shop, where a solitary figure sits absorbed in a book. The surrounding space is filled with stacks of volumes, reflecting the scholarly and bibliophilic nature of the society for which this menu was produced.

Delâtre employs a delicate, precise line quality characteristic of his etching practice. The cross-hatching and varied pressure create a sense of depth and shadow within the shop, contrasting with the lighter, open space of the street-level entrance. The text of the menu, detailing the courses and wine pairings, is integrated into the lower portion of the print, maintaining the aesthetic balance of the composition. The work reflects the cultural life of post-war Paris, where such societies maintained traditions of fine dining and literary appreciation. The scene evokes the specific charm of the bouquinistes and small antiquarian shops that defined the character of the city during this period. As a functional piece of ephemera, it demonstrates the intersection of commercial design and fine art printmaking, a common practice for artists associated with the print revival in France. The inclusion of the menu items, such as Sole Marguery and Cuissot de Chevreuil, provides a glimpse into the culinary expectations of the era, while the visual imagery grounds the document in the physical reality of the Parisian book trade.