MAGGY ROUFF (Maggy Besançon de Wagner) (1896-1971) LA PHILOSOPHIE DE L’ÉLÉGANCE, 1942. [THE PHILOSOPHY OF ELEGANCE, 1942] 1 VOLUME. IN FRENCH. COMES WITH: ‘MAGGY ROUFF’ SQUARE SILK SCARF.

i) The Philosophy of Elegance Paris, Editions littéraires de France, 1942. Illustrations by Paul Colin & Anne-Marie de Besançon Wagner. 8vo, bound, 251 (2) pages. Orange morocco, covers decorated with wave motifs, circles and black and gold dots, smooth spine with title and similarly decorated, edges of the inner covers edged and endpapers in pale green moiré, gilt edges, covers and spine preserved, slipcase (Gruel). First edition, illustrated with black-and-white plates in the text based on drawings by Paul Colin and Anne-Marie de Besançon Wagner, the author’s sister, including nine full-page plates and one double-page plate. Printed on 28 April 1942. 19 x 14 x 2.5 cm Spine slightly faded, hinges scuffed, edges of endpapers discoloured ii) 'Maggy Rouff' silk square hand-rolled, geometric pattern in shades of blue and white. Printed 'Maggy Rouff / Paris' 100% silk 76 x 76 cm Aureole, trace of a label Maggy Rouff Born Marguerite Besançon de Wagner, Maggy Rouff initially studied medicine before working as a designer alongside her parents, a Viennese couple who had recently acquired the Drecoll fashion house, which specialised in sportswear. In 1929, she bought the Rouff fashion house, which she renamed Maggy Rouff, and which became one of the leading haute couture houses of international renown in the 1930s. In the midst of the war, in 1942, Maggy Rouff published a handbook on good taste, in which she recounted her experience as a dressmaker and set out her conception of elegance.