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To Lou, a Tribute - Apollinaire Calligram Print, Palm Tree

To Lou, a Tribute - Apollinaire Calligram Print, Palm Tree

€35,00 EUR
€35,00 EUR
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  • Designed in France
  • 100% eco-friendly paper100% eco-friendly paper
  • Printed and shipped from a studio near you : most orders arrive in 5 business daysDelivery in 5 business days.

"To Lou, a respectfully passionate tribute"

A tall leaning palm tree made of words, in handwriting and capitals, crowned by the dedication "À Lou, hommage", with Guillaume Apollinaire's drawn signature at the bottom left. The ink keeps the movement of the pen.

What is an Apollinaire calligram?

A calligram is a poem whose words are arranged to draw its subject. Guillaume Apollinaire made it a genre of its own: rain falls in slanting lines, a dove spreads wings of words. This calligram print prints it in black on cream paper.

Who did Apollinaire dedicate this palm tree to?

To Louise de Coligny-Châtillon, Lou, whom he met in Nice in 1914. He drew it on 11 November 1914, at the start of their love story, as the dedication in a copy of L'Hérésiarque et Cie he gave her; it is published in Poèmes à Lou.

What does the palm tree say?

Each frond carries a declaration: the poet greets her "as does your favorite tree, the leaning palm of the great sea garden", compares her hair to spilled blood, and asks her never to forget him. A love tribute as much as a drawing.

Which size should I choose?

The 12x16 in fits an entryway, a study or a bedroom, alone or in a gallery wall with other calligrams. The 20x28 in holds its own above a sofa, a sideboard or a bed. Sizes are standard, frame not included.

Who is it a gift for?

For Valentine's Day, a wedding anniversary or a new love; to give someone a respectfully passionate tribute. It pairs with To Madame the Countess, written for the same Lou.

Lean in close and you'll see the letters aren't perfectly crisp. That's because they come from a page written by hand more than 100 years ago. Between a clean copy in a modern font and the real type of the period, we chose the real thing.

Specifications and sizes

Sizes: 12x16 in, 16x20 in, 20x28 in
Paper: thick eco-friendly matte paper
Printing: high resolution, long-lasting colors
Frame: not included
Print medium: poster, fine art print on matte paper
Theme: poetry, calligram, love
Delivery: Printed and shipped from a studio near you : most orders arrive in 5 business days

Posters sold individually

These posters need to be framed by you :)
We choose standard formats that are easy to frame!

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Close-up of the grain of our thick eco-friendly matte 170 gsm paper
The paper grain, up close.

Heure d'été Editions

Beautiful words deserve beautiful paper

These verses are set to be hung: a chosen typeface, measured margins, white space worked around the text. It is this layout that makes you want to read them again.

The paper is an uncoated matte 170 gsm. Its surface stays slightly fibrous, the ink sinks in, the light spreads across it. You read it the way you read a book.

It is eco-friendly paper from sustainably managed forests, and printed as close to you as possible to shorten transport.

Hanging a poem is not the same as reading it once. The text stays there, you catch two lines in passing, and the day pauses for a second. It is a moment you give yourself, and offer to those who live with you.

There is a quiet pleasure in living with French literature in the original. The poem keeps the language it was written in, and with it the sound the writer chose, which no translation quite carries over. On an English-speaking wall it stops being decoration and becomes something with a little cachet: a piece of France you can read on your way past, every morning.

It earns the large format. At 50x70 cm the text is read from across the room, and the page holds a wall the way a painting does.

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  • Exclusive creations, curated art

    Exclusive creations, curated art

    Our illustrations are created in our studio and found nowhere else. The poems and masterpieces are hand-picked, one by one: a curated collection, not a catalogue.

  • Responsible & local printing

    Responsible & local printing

    We print the posters as close to your home as possible!

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    Careful and fast delivery

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