Laurent, J.-E. SAINT-AIGNAN, Bernard Bousbir.... Lot 201

Laurent, J.-E. SAINT-AIGNAN, Bernard Bousbir. [Lithographs by J.-E. Laurent]. (Rabat F. Moncho 1950) In-4°. On ff. in printed cover, in red leather folder with gilded or cold-blocked floral Arabic decoration. In a red leather slipcase with gilt roll. First edition. Original presentation of the work: the bifolios, printed on one side, are spine to spine and entirely covered with lightly tinted tracing paper; the text is printed in green except for the 1st and last lines in red, the page numbering is in large red numerals, and the 40 black lithographs by J.-E. Laurent (including a portrait of the authors and 2 lithographs in color) are cut from white or green paper in various shapes, playing with the layout. In Casablanca, Bousbir "was a kind of erotic-exotic theme park, frequented by locals and travelers alike". Bousbir, a deformation of the first name Prosper (Brosber/Brousber/Bousbir as shown on the 1st ill.), was closed in 1953, but some street names still evoke "the women of Marrakech, Fez or Meknes (Marrakchia, Fessia, Meknassia), allegedly referring to the origin of the workers who officiated there". Edition of 256 copies, 6 of them lettered (no. 35). Ref. Staszak, J.-Fr. - "Tourisme et prostitution coloniales: la visite de Bousbir à Casablanca (1924-1955)"; see //journals.openedition.org/viatourism/424. - Not at BnF.