French la Vie

Without looking for a children’s book at all, I found a 1931 French alphabet book at the brocante.

I thought it would be darling to take the pages apart and frame them for a child’s room. I never did. I have trouble cutting books—old paper, fabric, lace, ribbon-

It probably comes from the time I cut up a very rare book without knowing it was rare, pasted it all over my wall like wallpaper, and only later learned its value. A small art project. A large mistake.

Since then, I look at old pages in a very different light. That book is from 1931, and it remains intact.

Some lessons arrive fully framed.

Oh how regret can be educational.

Mon Alphabet Illustré (Hachette, 1931) is a French children’s alphabet book illustrated by André Pécoud, (1880–1951) was a Parisian illustrator who worked extensively with Hachette from the 1920s through the 1940s, contributing to hundreds of books and magazines.