La Madone de la Forêt by Marie Muller | Elaborate French Cartonnage Romantique with Color Inset | Mame, 1862

A beautiful example of mid-19th-century French cartonnage romantique, published in Tours by the celebrated house of Ad Mame et Cie in 1862.

Marie Muller’s La Madone de la Forêt  in an exceptionally decorative publisher’s binding, richly embossed and gilt across both boards and spine. The front board is centered with a  colored landscape depicting a mountainous countryside and distant architectural ruins, framed by multiple layers of intricate gilt ornament. Soft pink and cream accents appear throughout the elaborate design, while the rear board is equally ornate, centered with a stylized floral motif against a pale pink ground. Written by Marie Muller and published by Ad Mame et Cie, Imprimeurs-Libraires, Tours, 1862. 

A small handwritten period note is retained loose within the volume, adding an element of provenance and evidence of the book’s earlier ownership.

Condition: Very Good

An especially attractive and increasingly scarce survival in this elaborate form. A highly decorative addition to a collection of 19th-century French bindings, Mame publications, Victorian-era gift books, or cartonnages romantiques.