Le Puys: 1869. Original French schoolchildren’s work cahiers take many forms, from the copying of lessons to original artwork. Here we have a beautiful example of the young Henriette de Morangiés’ work prepared at the school of La Maison de Nôtre Dame (Le Puys), classe the Religieuses de Nôtre Dame. She has written a history of famous flowers - the violet, the marguerite, lily of the valley, pansy, tulip, rose, fritillary, carnation, etc., identifying each with famous persons and periods in the history of France. The history has been produced in the manner of an illuminated manuscript, with calligraphic text, hand-painted borders - a different ornamentation for each section - hand-painted initial letters and other forms of text ornamentation. Each section opens with a distinct rendering of the flower to be discussed and a hand hand-painted ornamented initial. As was traditional with much of this student work done for presentation, the calligraphed text begins with a dedication to Henriette’s parents, this one a charming poem expressing her wish to present to her parents her work as a symbol of the honey created by the joy and activity of the bee among flowers. A work of devotion and considerable amateur talent. Ref. 17031 “Et voici donc mon miel, mon tout petit ouvrage” By Hand. Album, 29 x 21.2 cm; 30 ff all hand calligraphed and hand painted, with tissue guards over most portions of text and illustration.