Nice proof on Japan paper.

Minor soiling, slight fold in the upper right corner.

"Among the French engravers who pioneered water-based color wood engraving was Lepère's friend and collaborator, Tony Beltrand. In 1896, he founded with Lepère the magazine L'Image, the aim of which was to defend xylography. In 1897, he exhibited in Paris a series of ten studies of women in regional costumes. They are extremely rare and the print runs had to be limited to a few copies, printed by hand, in water. Several have the particularity of including relief effects by embossing, highlighting for example the foam of a wave or indicating the texture of a fabric (fig. 3). This very precious process was inspired by Beltrand by the surimono, prints which enjoyed particular prestige among Western collectors, and of which he himself owned fine copies."

in : Le rapprochement franco-japonais dans l’entre-deux-guerres
Conférences de la Maison franco-japonaise
Une leçon japonaise : la gravure sur bois en couleurs en France, 1889-1939
Philippe Le Stum, 2014
https://doi.org/10.4000/ebisu.1484