Gautier, Théophile. UNE NUIT DE CLÉOPATRE. ILLUSTRÉE DE VINGT-ET-UNE COMPOSITIONS PAR PAUL AVRIL. PRÉFACE PAR ANATOLE FRANCE. Paris: A. Ferroud [Imprimé par Chamerot et Renouard], 1894. 8vo [24.5 by 16 cm], finely bound in contemporary green three-quarter morocco, gilt, with marbled sides; spine elegantly decorated and lettered in gilt; marbled endpapers; top page edges gilt; silk marker; original printed paper covers bound in. (4), xx, 82, (2) pages; 15 lithographic compositions and 6 engraved plates, with tissue guards. Light rubbing to extremities; near fine and most attractive. One of 250 copies printed on papier d’Arches, No. 368 of 500 copies printed in total. The first separate printing of this short story taken from the 1839 collection Une larme du diable. Gautier (1811–1872) was a poet and journalist as well as a writer of fiction, but was perhaps best known for his travel writing. The French artist Paul (Édouard-Henri) Avril (1849–1928) was best known for his erotic imagery, often printed privately in limited editions.