32 issues total comprising a complete run of L'Hydropathe together with the 4 issues of Tout-Paris which followed L'Hydropathe, each issue 4 pp. Large quarto (12 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches). Leather-backed boards with raised spine, original issues bound in. Some splitting along spine, bumping to corners and edgewear, a few leaves restored or repaired, overall good. Paris: Imprimerie Laloux fils & Guillot, 1879-1880. With handwritten name to front flyleaf of Paul Vivien, and accompanying card dated January 19, 1932 from Serena Vivien.

A rare complete collection of the eponymous publication of the Cercle des Hydropathes. Les Hydropathes was a Parisian literary club active during the early Third Republic, founded by poet and novelist Émile Goudeau in 1878. After the War of 1870, many literary clubs were created in Paris, and Les Hydropathes was among the most important based on its participants. The goal of the club was to celebrate literature, and in particular poetry, and some of their meetings or get-togethers had over 300 attendees.

In January 1879, approximately two months after the first Hydropathe meeting, Goudeau and his colleagues started the journal L'Hydropathe. Goudeau served as editor in chief, with administrative assistance from Paul Vivien, Alce d'Alis, Jules Jouy, Paul Allais, Émile Cohl, and Maurice Petit. Each issue contained a mixture of poetry and prose, and each cover bore a caricature portriat of a Hydropathe member drawn by Georges Lorin under the pseudonym Cabriol, including caricatures of André Gill, Felicien Champsaur, Coquelin Cadet, Charles Cros, Sarah Bernhardt, Charles Lomon, Alfred Le Petit, August Vacquerie, Luigi Loir, Raul Fauve, Georges Moynet, Alphonse Lafitte, Gustave Rivet, Maurice Petit, Charles Leroy, and others.

In a brief article in the first issue, Chief Administrator Paul Vivien writes about the creation of the Cercle des Hydropathes and the appointment of Goudeau as its head. "Nous éions, en ce temps là, un groupe jeune, composé d'artistes, de poètes, d'étudiants. On se réunissait chaque soir au premier étage d'un café du Quartier latin, on faisait de la musique, on récitait des vers. Mais la musique ne plaît pas à tout le monde, on n'aime pas toujours, lorsqu'on fait une partie de piquet ou d'échecs, à entendre changer derrière soi, le chanteur fût-il excellent. Nous gênions souvent et nous étions gênés. Il nous fallait absolument un local à nous. De l'idée d'un local à l'idée d'un cercle, il n'y avait qu'un pas. Il fut fait, et le Cercle des Hydropathes était fondé. La création en était due surtout à l'activité d'Émile Goudeau. Il était juste qu'il en fût nommé Président."

After only eighteen months, the group stated in their final issue that the idea of the "Hydropathe" had now grown old, and the circle's leaders moved north of the Seine and rebranded their journal as "Tout-Paris". However, in June 1880, after just a few issues, publication of Tout-Paris ended along with the Hydropathe "séances". According to Bénédict Didider in his 2009 work, 'Petites Revues et esprit bohème à la fin du XIXe siècle', “The Hydropathes were undoubtedly indicators of the rupture between two eras, as well as between two literary periods. They were born of a profound sense of disappointment with both ideas and ideals. The chaos provoked by the events of 1870 left a deep imprint on the mentalities of the youth of 1880. For Emile Goudeau, the Hydropathes wanted to mark the beginning of bohemian novelty. The circle was quickly created in response to its incredible success. The newspaper became the voice of these bohemians and their advertising tool.”

A scarce complete collection of an important Third Republic bohemian publication. Grand-Carteret, p. 582 ; Collection André Vasseur, p.52 ; Watelet, Presse illustrée en France 1814-1914, VII, 42.

Book ID: 53326

Price: $9,500.00