In the late 1960s, when Patrick Caulfield was invited to make a set of screenprints for a limited edition book, he chose the subject matter of the poetry of Jules Laforgue. Caulfield had greatly admired the poetry of Laforgue since his days as a student at the Royal College of Art. Laforgue was born in Motevideo in 1860, but in 1876 moved to Paris where he died in 1887. Laforgue's poetry, at the same time romantic and ironic, was an important influence on such later poets as T.S.Eliot. About the screenprints, Caulfield said: 'The images I produced are complementary images, not illustrations. Some of the connections are a bit tenuous, others are obvious. I tried to image what Laforgue might have been looking at when he thought of the poems, knowing, of course, that certain of the images are totally of another period to Laforgue's lifetime: poetic licence with poetic license'. (p.9, 'Patrick Caulfield, The Poems of Jules Laforgue', Arts Council Collection, 1995).

This portfolio includes the complete set of six signed and numbered screenprints in colors on wove paper from the edition of 200, plus the accompanying book with 22 illustrations and poetry by Jules Laforgue, contained in original gray leather binding, folder, and slipcase. All the works are in perfect, unframed condition.