My Life

xiv, 280pp, with colour plate frontispiece and further monochrome plate illustrations. Brown cloth-covered boards, blind-embossed design on front, gilt titles on front and spine; top text block edge gilt. 8vo. Sun-faded spine, rubbed corners and spine ends. Endpapers a little tanned, front free endpaper removed, gift inscription on first blank page, pages ageing. Otherwise, internally neat and clean. Dust jacket spine sun-faded, has areas of minor loss, has significant wear, price clipped.

Emma Calve (1858-1942) was a French opera singer, and international performer and for a long time the leading voice of the Belle Epoque. Her career as a Metropolitan opera singer ended abruptly in 1904 when she walked off stage when she didn’t get her own way about musical tone. Later in life she develop a serious interest in paranormal and was at one point engaged the occult author Jules Bois.