Charles Meryon. 1821-1868.
Le Stryge (The Vampire). 1853 and later. Etching. Delteil-Wright 25; Schneiderman 27.vi/x. 6 5/8 x 5 1/16 (sheet 9 3/4 x 7 1/2). Series: Eaux-Fortes sur Paris. Illustrated: Print Collector's Quarterly 1 (1911): 65; Leipnik, A History of French Etching; Lumsden, The Art of Etching. A rich lifetime impression printed on fine 'VEGO' laid paper. Monogrammed in the plate. $6,000.
The vampire is one of the stone gargoyles on the parapet of the upper balcony of a tower of Notre Dame, Paris. Meryon wrote of the images, "This monster which I have represented does exist, and is in no way a figment of imagination. I thought I saw in this figure the personification of Luxuria [Lust]." (Schneiderman, page 56.)
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