Colin, Paul. (1892-1985) [Talley, André Leon. (1948-2022)] [Lagerfeld, Karl. (1933–2019)]
Le Tumulte Noir Portfolio  (1929) - THE COPY OF ANDRÉ LEON TALLEY with a Presentation Letter from KARL LAGERFELD

Folio (473 x 320mm). Half-title, 43 lithographic plates (41 heightened with pochoir), on 21 single-page and one double-page sheet, two calligrams (one on the verso of a lithograph, the other on a single page of wove paper), and a reproduction of a manuscript by Josephine Baker entitled “Topic of the Day” (light wear and soiling to edges of some lithographs, occasional corner losses, partial spine tear to limitation page spread). Publisher's printed buff wrappers with red endpapers. Cloth clamshell. [With:] LAGERFELD, Karl (1933-2019) Autograph letter to André Leon Talley, [Paris, n.d., but before 2010]. Four pages, quarto. Enclosing two Polaroids of a caftan being designed for Talley, housed in a folder bearing images from Colin’s Le Tumulte Noir on cover. Includes original stiff mailing envelope addressed in Lagerfeld's hand. Provenance: Maurice J. Lachard (bookplate) – Catherine Ruchoux (bookplate) – Karl Lagerfeld (aforementioned letter of enclosure) — Estate of André Leon Talley. 

A very rare complete portfolio of Paul Colin’s iconic work published in tribute "to Josephine Baker and the other African American performers who had captivated the Parisian public during les années folles, those 'crazy years' known in America as the Roaring Twenties" (Dalton and Gates). The Tumulte Noir is a luxurious portfolio consisting of 42 original lithographs by Colin, all hand-colored in pochoir, an elaborate procedure involving stencils for each color. An advertisement in the program from the Bal Nègre makes it clear that this album was designed for and sold at this special one-night event, which was Colin's brainchild and tribute to the "Black Craze" of Paris. Only 500 copies were printed, and each portfolio includes a facsimile of a letter of introduction written by Josephine Baker, a preface by Rip (the satirist George Thenon) and a sort of calligram in the shape of a palm tree by Colin. The album is divided into two parts, the first of which is dedicated to Josephine Baker and black musicians and dancers. Exquisitely stylized, drawn with a free hand, full of wit, movement and invention, it encapsulates Paul Colin at his very best. The second part is a satire of Paris under the spell of the Charleston rage. Following in the steps and the style of Sem, Colin depicts in funny (and sometimes cruel) satire the Parisian music hall stars of the moment. His subjects included Mistinguett, Maurice Chevalier, Cecile Sorel, the Dolly Sisters, as well as the chansonniers Rip and Saint-Granier, a Cubist Jean Borlin of the Ballet Suédois, and even the tennis champion Suzanne Lenghen.

Le Tumulte Noir is not without problematic racial overtones, yet its imagery also expresses "the communal sigh of relief African Americans exhaled in France […] There, segregation was illegal. Hotels, restaurants, and theaters were open to all, regardless of race. African Americans could dance all night with, and make love to, French women and men, and no one even blinked." With this work, Colin captured the spirit and movement of the wild dance, the Charleston, newly imported from the United States of America, and the syncopated rhythms of a new art form called jazz (Karen C. C. Dalton and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "Josephine Baker and Paul Colin: African American Dance Seen through Parisian Eyes." Critical Inquiry, Vol. 24, No. 4, Summer, 1998).

It is very rare to find this portfolio complete (in addition to the edition of 500, 10 copies were printed on Japan paper and 10 others on Madagascar Vellum), as most existing copies have been broken up. This is an especially remarkable example, gifted by one fashion icon to another: from Karl Lagerfeld, the German fashion designer, artist, and photographer known as the creative director of Chanel and for his own eponymous fashion label to the legendary fashion editor/stylist/journalist André Leon Talley, the first Black man to hold the title of Creative Director of American Vogue.

One of France's greatest poster artists, Colin was made famous in 1925 for his exotic poster for the Revue Nègre, an all-black show which featured a nineteen-year-old Josephine Baker. Baker, dancing practically nude in revealing costumes, sometimes accompanied by a live cheetah, soon caused a sensation in Paris. Colin and Baker became lovers and lifelong friends; she served as his muse, while he promoted her career, introducing her to Parisian society and immortalizing her in many memorable poster designs.