Les Cent Une: A History Of Women, Books and Rights

Women’s fight for equality, respect and recognition for their work has moved to a new level in recent months thanks to the #MeToo movement in the United States and #balancetonporc in France. “And about time,” one might say.

But is any of this really new?

A quick check is enough to confirm that the top, highest-paying jobs are mostly held by men, who are also the recipients of the greatest number of honours and important appointments, both in the public and private spheres. All you need do is count the number of women who are heads of state or CEOs of multinational corporations. And few of the prizes awarded for achievements in science or in the arts – the cinema, literature and fine arts – ever go to them. The issue is a serious one, but it was already a problem last century, when women gradually started fighting for equality on a number of fronts. One such battle, fought on the field of literature, was won by Les Cent Une, an association of female bibliophiles founded in 1926 by Princess Schakhowskoy. It appears the Princess was invited to a dinner given by a group of book lovers. But as soon as she stepped into the room, she was struck by the overwhelming number of male guests present, or more simply by the absence of women. When she was told women just weren’t interested, the Princess vowed to found an association open only to women. The men dismissed the idea, saying she would never get “even one hundred” members. The Princess rose to the challenge, declaring she would find “Cent Une” (one hundred and one) – stressing the “Une”, the feminine form of “one” in French.

Clearly, there was no over-abundance of women bibliophiles at the time, but in the end the initiative was a great success. In just a few months, 101 members were enlisted and the Association published its first book: Suzanne et le Pacifique by Jean Giraudoux, with 33 original plates by J.E. Laboureur. The Association went on to become one of the most famous publishers of illustrated artists’ books in the whole of France. Jean Cocteau himself paid tribute to the society on its 36th anniversary in 1951, designing a crest for it and praising “the nobility of [its members’] spirits (...) which they have handed down to one another since 1926” («noblesse d’âme (…) qu’elles se lèguent depuis 1926»).

To this day, the Association numbers 101 women, not one more, not one less. Once every two years, Les Cent Une issues an illustrated book, introducing the general public to previously unpublished or little-known works illustrated by contemporary artists. The Association is a women’s, not a feminist, organization and the writers and illustrators are not necessarily female. Wallector is offering a selection of the earliest and most important works published by the Association:

• Suzanne et le pacifique, by Jean Giraudoux, with 33 original plates by di J.E. Laboureur, the first book published by Les Cent Une
• Partage du midi, by Paul Claudel, with four original wood engravings by Alfred Latour
• Les poèsies, by Stéphane Mallarmé The Association’s fifth publication, containing six original etchings by Demetrios Galanis, after drawings by Berthe Morisot
• Mon Amie Nane, by P.-J. Toulet, with 22 lithographs by Mariano Andreu
• Le Banquet de Platon
• Les enfants terribles, Jean Cocteau’s extraordinary book, with 43 drawings and seven original engravings by Anthony Gross
• Ariane, by Renée de Brimont, with 10 original wood engravings by Georges Beltrand after Henri Deluermoz
• Heroides, by Ovid, with 15 original etchings by André Derain
• Le Cantique des Cantiques, translated from Latin into French by the Faculty of Theology of Leuven University, with 16 original drypoint engravings by Michel Ciry
• L’immoraliste, by André Gide (1948 edition), with 27 original lithographs by Jacques Thevenet